Sunlit Tides
by fleurcentineo
Summary: Starting right after the events during "The Southern Raiders", Katara and Zuko start to feel a growing connection as the hours, days, months, and years pass by. What will life look like for them in the future? They won't know until they take their first steps towards a platonic connection, and possibly much, much more. Zutara FanFic. Rated Mature for Sexual Scenes and Violence.
1. Prologue

As Katara stood there, in the caves of Ba Sing Se, touching the Fire Nation prince's face with her Spirit Water dangling in her other hand, she could feel her heart softening towards him. Though those seconds seemed like hours, as she looked up at his face, his eyes closed as he leaned into her touch, she felt like a new bond was forming between them. She didn't know exactly what kind of bond, and before she could figure it out, she was interrupted by the wall bursting open.

Everything erupted into a battle, Aang in the Avatar State as he fought Azula and her cronies, and, quite upsettingly, Zuko. Had she not gotten through to him? But she had to defend Aang, to protect him. Unfortunately, that's not what happened, and he was struck while stuck in the Avatar State, and she made the quickest escape she could with his lifeless body in tow. That was where she was going to use the Spirit Water, not for a petty prince who wanted nothing but to end or capture the Avatar.

That was all she was thinking about when, months later, he showed up at one of the group's campsites, asking to join them to stop his father, the Firelord. Once he helped defeat an assassin that _he_ sent to kill the Avatar or something along those lines, Katara, with her hardened soul and perspective on the world, went to his room and leaned against the doorframe, seeming to surprise him. She looked up, her arms crossed and her eyebrows furrowed, her lips forming a hard line.

"You might have everyone else here buying your... _transformation_ ," she said, a warning tone in her voice. She had seen the small smile on his face as he stood to greet her, but she wasn't having any of it.

"But you and I both know that you've struggled with doing the right thing in the past," she continued, starting to walk towards him. "So let me tell you something right now. You make one step backward, one slipup, give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang, and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore."

She stared him down, fury burning in her chest as she stared at his shocked face. After having saved Aang once from the brink of death, she couldn't do so again. She had nothing else, nothing that could save anyone. Even her healing powers were almost no match to the properties of what that Spirit Water had.

Without skipping a beat, she continued.

"Because I'll make sure that your destiny ends, right then and there," she threatened, her eyes narrowing further. " _Permanently_."

With that, she turned around and walked out, without even letting Zuko say anything. She slammed the door shut and never regretted what she said then, until things started to change, until things became different.


	2. Chapter 1 - Vengeful

**A/N** : So I'm getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow. I'm posting this chapter a bit early, but I'm thinking that I'll try to post every Saturday, but if I finish one before then and I'm super excited about it, I'll post those ones early. I have had this finished for a little while, but tried waiting for Saturday. I'll be too busy taking care of my teeth and myself and I may forget, so before I do, here you go!

 _ **Song Muse for this chapter:**_ Warriors by Imagine Dragons (I'll start doing this from now on as well)

* * *

After freezing that rain, sending those ice shards at the man, Katara knew that revenge wasn't the path for her. Making the earth stand still made everything clear. Seeing the pain - the fear - behind the Fire Nation's retired general's eyes made her rethink her decision to hurt or kill him. He had most likely lost friends or family or soldiers during the war as well, which was probably something Katara had in common with everyone who was affected by the war. Katara could not let her hatred out on this man, for he was not the mastermind behind it all, and even if she did get revenge for her mother's death, would that void be filled? Most likely not. She took a deep breath and let the frozen raindrops fall on the man, harmless and just making him slightly wet.

All this time, Katara had been angry at the wrong people for killing her mother. The Firelord wanted all waterbenders to be eradicated, and this man was only taking orders. It was the same with Zuko, though his reasons were much different than the retired general's circumstances. Zuko had been brainwashed by his father, hurt and tortured because he didn't have the "honor" that his father was looking for. It wasn't like she accepted everything that Zuko had done to Aang, but she did understand where he was coming from a little better now.

Over the past few days, Zuko had almost laid down his life to protect Katara and the rest of the group, a group he was inadvertently a part of now. So why did she not trust him up until this point? Was it because she didn't fully understand why he did all of those things? Or maybe it was the betrayal in the crystal caves back in the Ba Sing Se, where he sided with his sister and almost helped her kill - or actually, he did help kill - the Avatar while Aang was in the Avatar State. It was the Spirit Water that Katara kept with her - something that she had just offered to Zuko to heal scar moments before he attacked - that brought the Avatar back to life.

These thoughts were rushing through her mind as the events happened and she couldn't sift through them all in one fleeting moment. She would need time, but if anything, Zuko did prove to her - multiple times over - that he could be trusted with training and taking care of the Avatar and everyone else in their group.

But those were thoughts for another time. She needed to face the man, here and now. Though he was forced to, he did it anyway. What sort of person does that? Someone who is empty, a coward. As she let the water go, it seemed some of her fury died with it. She did guess that what Aang said was right. She just needed to face this man, but not necessarily forgive him or cause him a life of pain and anguish. Either way, she _could not_ hurt or kill him.

"I did a bad thing... I know I did. And...and you deserve revenge! So why don't you take my mother? That would be fair!"

The man's words meant nothing to Katara anymore. He meant nothing to her except for the hatred she needed to forgive, more for herself rather than him. She walked up to him and shook her head.

"I've always wondered what kind of person could do such a thing... But now that I see you, I think I understand. There's...just nothing inside you. Nothing at all. You're pathetic, and sad, and empty." Though the anger was still there, it was dull and less violent.

"Please! Spare me!" the man pleaded and whimpered.

"But as much as I _hate_ you... I just can't do it."

After waiting a few moments, Katara turned and walked away, towards Appa. She didn't remember the journey home or anything after that really, up until Aang came and greeted her at the docks.

Aang was a great friend, someone who meant a lot to her. But she had to admit that, after the kiss before the eclipse mission, something had changed between them. She felt more distant from him, especially because she knew exactly how he felt about her. After all, he was the one who kissed her, right? She had been surprised and a little touched, but she still couldn't bring herself to see him that way.

"Katara!" she heard Aang call. "Are you okay?"

His footsteps were coming closer and closer, and the weight of his advice had been weighing her down. He had been right, at least about not getting violent. Talking about taking a life was different than actually going through with it. She ached, emotionally and physically.

"I'm doing fine," she fibbed.

"Zuko told me what you did," Aang said, "or, rather, what you didn't do, I guess. I'm proud of you."

That sent a pang through Katara that she wasn't expecting.

"I wanted to do it," she said, bitterness and disappointment in her voice. "I wanted to take out all of my anger at him, but I couldn't."

After a brief pause, she continued.

"I don't know if it's because I'm too weak to do it, or if I'm strong enough not to."

Without coming any closer to her, Aang knew exactly what she needed - not wanted - to hear.

"You did the right thing. Forgiveness is the first step you have to take to begin healing."

It was what he had said all along, but she still didn't understand this way of thinking, because she didn't forgive him.

"I didn't forgive him," she told him, giving Aang a look. "I'll never forgive him."

Slowly, her gaze shifted to Zuko, someone she saw in an entirely new light. He had done something that no one else on the Gaang could do. He supported her whether or not he had condoned her actions or not, and it was an unwavering support, even now. She could tell. She gave him a small half-smile and walked up to him.

"But I am ready to forgive you," she told him, then hugging him tightly. They had a new, blossoming understanding that was something that she had looked for since the Ba Sing Se events.

After that, she gave him one last look, a sad smile on her face, and then walked back to her tent. As she walked into the temporary structure, the smile had left her face and she was trying to fight back tears, trying to remain strong even though she knew she was alone and in a safe space. Maybe it was time to let go of this motivation for avenging her mother, which she could see why it would be her motivation to participate in a war at all.

As she looked back to when she first found Aang in her mind, she realized how innocent and unskilled she was, that she had a certain spirit and trust that had been dampened as the war went on. She laid back on her bed, staring at the top of her tent, thoughts swirling in her head as to why she was this way now. She had become emotionless almost, fearing the unknown as much as the next person, but not willing to take risks to end this conflict, this war. Closing her eyes, she let her thoughts wander a little bit, to Zuko, to her recent journey with the Fire Nation prince.

Anger no longer lit a fire in her soul. Embarrassment and the bloom of trust were taking seed in her mind, and it was a little scary to Katara, not realizing that her life would come to be this way, that she would eventually trust the boy that had been entrusted with capturing the Avatar. She had to give in, since he had proven himself by far that day, with going with her. She had to give in to trusting him, as there was no other way.

After all, things needed to change in order to restore balance to the world. Maybe this was the first step, at least for Katara.

* * *

Zuko watched as Katara confronted the man who killed her mother, the emotions palpable in the humid air as rain fell around them. He wasn't even in tune with water most of the time, but that day, he was. He was there for Katara in that moment, mostly in an effort to prove himself to her. That was what this mission was about - Katara was the only one who didn't seem to trust him wholeheartedly. He remembered the first night he was there with Aang and his friends at the temple, when Katara came into his room and warned him about slipping up, that there was no room for that when she didn't trust him already. Now here he was, risking his life and his identity being found out to defend Katara in this crucial part of her healing, or a part of her revenge. Whatever this may turn out to be, Zuko knew what she was going through.

He remembered, with vivid detail, the day he last saw his mother. Her eyes were panicked as she spoke to him, telling him things that made no sense to him and still don't to this day. He never got a chance to ask her, since the next day, she was gone. Maybe it wasn't exactly like that for the woman he was standing behind at that very moment, but they had both lost their mothers. They had both lost a part of their childhood because of this unnecessary war, all because his ancestors had craved more power and desired to rule the world. Not Zuko; he would never want that, unlike what his father had told him many years before.

Zuko felt the water drop to the ground, and he looked at Katara, the anger still in her eyes but shielded by something else he couldn't quite understand. Was it disappointment? Mercy? He couldn't tell, but he listened to her words and realized that she had progressed past her initial rage. She spoke then, and that was when he realized the weight the words presented. That was when he realized who his father was: a coward.

Zuko knew then that he had made the right decision, choosing the side of the Avatar and pushing through to make sure he gained Katara's trust back, if it was even there in the first place. But, since his father was such an empty man, how would Aang even attempt defeating him? That was a new worry that bubbled up inside Zuko's head. Aang was getting into something bigger than he could potentially handle, and Zuko would need to help him figure that out.

As he and Katara left, his mind was elsewhere. The ride back to camp was silent, and he figured it was because both he and Katara had some thoughts to sort through. Unfortunately, nothing he could think of would pose a strong enough threat to deter his father from trying to conquer more. Unless Aang killed him, he would still be a danger to the rest of the world. As long as the Firelord had some inkling of power, he would try to figure out a way to use it. That worried Zuko far more than he could even imagine.

As they landed, Zuko approached Aang, having a long conversation about what had occurred during their time away. Aang had seemed relieved, and the both of them went looking for Katara, finding her on one of the docks. Aang had enthusiastically run up to her and Zuko knew the relief and stale anguish was palpable in the air. If Zuko could feel it, without really knowing Katara, Aang was sure to feel it.

As he and Katara talked, Zuko was surprised by Katara's words towards him. He blinked and accepted her hug when it came, his arms resting on her torso. With that, she walked away, and he turned to watch her go. With that, he began speaking to Aang.

"You were right about what Katara needed," he confessed. "Violence wasn't the answer."

"It never is," Aang replied.

Zuko spoke again without any hesitation.

"Then I have a question for you," he began, turning towards Aang. "What are you going to do when you face my father?"

Zuko kept his eyes on the Avatar, seeing the look of worry on Aang's face. He knew that the boy didn't have an answer at the moment, and maybe giving him some space would solve that problem. All Zuko knew was that his father was a violent man, and he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Even burn his own son, banishing him to a life of earning his honor back, though Zuko realized how fruitless it had been, and he had wasted a few years trying to earn his father's respect back. But how valuable was it in the first place? His father had always favored Azula either way. What mattered now was that he was going to put an end to his father's tyrannical reign, and that he had help.


	3. Chapter 2 - Agni Kai

**A/N:** Oh hey! I just knocked this out today, and I was super excited about it. Hopefully, I will keep this trend up. I will really hold myself accountable to not leave you guys hanging by the end of this story. I have free time right now and I will be writing/posting as much as I can! It'll get less canon in the next chapter after this one, I promise. You will see things that start to diverge from the original story and into more of a "Zutara world" if that makes sense. Either way, enjoy this chapter and I hope you like it! (This is not edited so sorry if there are any mistakes). :)

 ** _Song Muse for this chapter:_** Until We Go Down by Ruelle

* * *

Katara couldn't believe was Zuko was letting himself do. After a short visit with his uncle, Iroh, he had decided to confront his insane younger sister. His uncle had encouraged him, but Katara had come to care quite a bit about Zuko, much to her surprise. After him coming with her to try and avenge her mother, the two had a growing connection that Katara couldn't help but admit was real. Even though there was a big part of her who did not want to feel that way, she did, and it wasn't possible to make it go away this time.

As they rode up to the palace on Appa, Katara's nervousness continued to grow. What if the two of them wasn't enough? What if their entire plan wasn't enough? What if they failed? What if Aang failed and the Avatar ceased to exist? As she thought everything, a growing anxious feeling washed over her, but, equally forceful, a determination to not fail grew as well. She had Zuko with her. He knew his sister's every motives better than anybody, didn't he? Well, maybe her father knew more since they had been in cohorts, but Azula had also shared her father's views, something that Zuko did not, at least not anymore. Katara bit her lower lip, hearing the booming voice of the announcer down below, nearly announcing Azula as Firelord.

"By decree of Phoenix King Ozai, I now crown you Firelord-" he had begun, but then stopped, his hands stopping just before the symbol of the Firelord had been put into Azula's hair. She noticed immediately, her head turning, her lips speaking something that Katara couldn't quite make out.

Then, Appa roared as he prepared to land, causing Azula's fiery gaze to fall upon them. He landed with a _thwump!_ and then Zuko stood on his head. Katara watched Azula carefully, there if Zuko needed her, just like he had been when he went with her to confront the man who killed her mother.

"Sorry, but you're not gonna become Firelord today," said Zuko, leaping off of Appa's head, staring down Azula. "I am."

At those words, Azula laughed as Katara dismounted Appa as well, moving to stand next to Zuko. Katara was determined to have Azula taken down once and for all, no matter what it took

"You're hilarious," said Azula, a huge smirk on the princess' face.

"And you're going down," Katara countered back, her eyebrows creased, her body filled with nerves and adrenaline.

Azula's smirk disappeared, and she waved the man holding her symbol of Firelord away, moving to stand.

"Wait," she ordered. "You want to be Firelord? Fine, let's settle this. Just you and me, brother, the showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

Katara stared at Azula, her eyebrows still creased. Surely Zuko would say no to that, right? He couldn't be baited like that. Her adrenaline was dying down, slowly but surely. But what she didn't expect were the words that next came out of Zuko's mouth.

"You're on."

Katara looked at him, missing the grin that then spread across Azula's face. Katara's lips parted slightly as she looked at her companion with surprise.

"What're you doing? She's playing you. She knows she can't take us both, so she's trying to separate us!" Katara remarked.

"I know, but I can take her this time," Zuko replied.

"But you even admitted to your uncle that you would need help facing Azula."

"There's something off about her. I can't explain it, but she's slipping... And this way, no one else has to get hurt."

With that, Katara could tell what he was saying was true, so she gave him a single, curt nod and followed them to the Agni Kai arena.

* * *

Zuko didn't know exactly what it was that made him agree to an Agni Kai with his sister, but he did know that something was incredibly off about her. Her hair was dishevelled and chopped, surprising him since her hair was almost unnaturally perfect no matter what she did. That day, she was not like that. That day, she had bags under her eyes, like she hadn't gotten enough sleep, and her smile seemed too devious, even for her. Usually there was a level of calculation, but her eyes showed him that instinct and slight fear was fueling her fire. Was she really prepared for this battle, when Zuko had gotten the true meaning of firebending under his belt, especially since her fire burned with anger and hatred, while his burned with light and life?

As he kneeled across from her in the arena, he felt a certain calmness in the decision he had just made. He took a few deep breaths and then stood, turning around to face his younger sister. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at her in the dimming light.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, brother," Azula sneered, discarding her Firelord frock and giving him a deceitful grin.

"No, you're not," Zuko replied, already in his starting stance.

Azula took an interesting starting stance for a moment, and then the world before him erupted into blue flame, but he was ready.

He lifted his hands, creating a fiery orange wall that met the blue flames in the middle of the arena. His training these past few weeks with the Avatar and his new friends did make things a lot different. He had refined his fighting style, and he was extremely prepared to face Azula, especially since Ty Lee and Mai weren't necessarily on her side anymore. Besides, this was an Agni Kai. This was a one-on-one battle until the end.

It had been going on for minutes, their fighting, but it seemed like hours. Zuko's stance was strong, and when Azula ceased her bending to look behind her at the line of fair that almost got to her, she flashed crazy eyes at him, her lips curled downward in a deep frown. The grace that she once had when she bended was gone, and it was almost like she was an animal run by instinct and bloodlust, a step beyond Zuko could ever comprehend. Whatever move she made, Zuko was ready for it. He was surprised that she didn't start generating lightning in this fight already, but maybe she was saving her big guns for the last moments, when she knew it was going to be too late. He was prepared for anything.

Zuko noticed that she was breathing heavily, seemingly winded by the effort of fighting him, and she barely dodged his moves without getting scathed herself. It was difficult, somewhat, to see what her loyalty to their father had made her into. Would he have been like that, had he not seen or experienced what so much of the rest of the world had? Would he have gone mad, like she seemed to have gone? His scar meant so much more to him now - it was when the start of his rebirth had begun.

Once particular hit knocked Azula off her feet, her hair astray from her loose bun and her chest heaving, trying to get every breath in and out of her lungs. She had hit the ground hard, and Zuko wasn't surprised that he was still standing. He was happy that he was, though, especially since he had been slightly worried before he had seen her. Now, he wasn't. He was sure that he could win this. That's why he didn't care when he taunted her.

"What's the matter? No lightning today?" he yelled. "Afraid I'll redirect it?"

"Oh, I'll show you lightning!" she yelled back.

Zuko assumed his position, ready to redirect it back at his sister, put an end to this once and for all.

What he didn't expect was for her eyes to shift to the right. What he didn't expect was for her aim to go to Katara instead of him. What he didn't expect was that he wouldn't have the chance to even redirect it back to her because he would be struck in the chest to protect his companion.

" _No!_ " he shouted, as he ran in front of Katara to shield her from the blast. His body convulsed with the electricity it was exposed to in mid-air while the lightning passed through him. Seconds later, he rolled onto the ground, flinching as his damaged muscles took most of the blow.

Then, everything went black.

* * *

Everything had gone south for Katara, seeing his crazy sister strike him like that. Her heart beat quickly, a sense of adrenaline pumping through her veins.

"Zuko!" Katara shouted, taking the water from her pouch as a crazed Azula laughed manically, running towards her and blocking her pathway to Zuko. No matter what, she needed to get to Zuko, who was still convulsing on the floor. He had managed to get himself on his back, so it would be easier for her to heal him, but first, she had to deal with Azula herself.

Katara ran from her blasts, rolling on the ground before standing. She looked for Azula, a blast of blue fire telling her she was on the roof. Lightning illuminated the sky once more, and Azula seemed to have lost her last shred of dignity.

"I'd really rather our family physician look after little Zuzu, if you don't mind!"

Katara looked at the Princess, creating a shield of water to protect her until she could run from Azula's offensive onslaught. She ran to a nearby building, Azula's blasts burning the tips of Katara's hair. She hid behind one of the pillars, waiting for Azula's next move, or the next move she could make towards Zuko.

"Zuzu, you don't look so good!"

Katara felt the electricity in the air and managed to move at the last moment to a different pillar before Azula had another strike of lightning go towards where Katara had been just standing. With that, Katara decided it was time to go on the offense, twisting a deluge of water before sending it to where she thought Azula was standing. Katara was surprised to see that she wasn't there, but she knew Azula couldn't be far. As she heard thrusts behind her, Katara ran in the opposite direction of where Azula was, preparing herself for more attacks. Katara deftly dodged Azula's attacks by surfing on waterbent ice around the arena, stumbling underneath another building as Azula's biggest infero shot at her. Katara tripped off her ice path, and as she landed, she realized just where she did land.

She did seem hidden at the moment, and she looked up, a chain hanging from a nearby torch. She could do this. She had to do this.

"There you are, filthy peasant!" Azula sneered, stumbling towards Katara with a determined look in her eyes.

Katara was quick, narrowing her eyes as Azula came closer, sending ribbons of water towards the Princess before shifting to the side and letting Azula nearly shoot a bolt of lightning at her. But before that could happen, Katara shot her hands upward and bent the water beneath them, freezing them temporarily in a moment of time. Katara eventually breathed out, making select parts of the ice into water. This rendered Azula helpless and Katara could see the fear in the girl's eyes. Her hands moved to Azula's, binding them with the chain and then chaining her to the grate beneath them. The water then fell, and Katara ignored Azula's grunts of protest before running towards Zuko.

She had to get to him before it was game over.


	4. Chapter 3 - Relief

**A/N** : I really hope I let the emotion show through in this chapter. I really tried my best. I do much better with actions rather than thoughts and emotions, and I'm not entirely sure why. But I've been getting better and I do hope that it continues to be good!

 _ **Song Muse for this chapter**_ : Bridges by Broods

* * *

Without saying a word, Katara ran from Azula, who was still struggling against the binds that rendered her nearly useless. She approached Zuko, gently rolling him over, since he seemed to have rolled back on his stomach, which wasn't the position she wanted him in. The worry showed on Katara's face, and she took a deep breath before bringing water to her hand like a magnet. She flattened both hands on Zuko's chest, watching his face as the water enveloped both of her hands. Then she focused her gaze on the water, closing her eyes and letting the water do what it was supposed to. Slowly, Zuko's body calmed, and Katara could feel the pain being drawn away from his body as she kept her hands there.

When his body completely relaxed, Katara drew her hands away and looked at his face, a small grin lighting up her face when she saw a smile on his, his eyes lazily open as he breathed normally once again. Tears immediately came to her eyes as she realized what had just happened. The relief that she felt, now that she knew he was okay, was incomparable to anything she ever felt before.

"Thank you, Katara," Zuko whispered to her, the smile never leaving his face.

"I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," Katara replied, the tears streaming down her cheeks as she spoke.

After that short exchange, a new bond had been formed between the two of them. They had always been a good team for a battle like this, fire and ice finally battling together in something that was for the good of the world, but as Katara helped Zuko get up slowly, making sure he didn't strain himself too much, Azula brought herself back into the picture.

She had, finally, lost.

Her breathing got heavier. The threads inside of her mind were fraying all at once. Then, they broke, and Azula's screams could be heard throughout the entire Agni Kai arena, her blue fire escaping from her mouth as tears of fury and anguish rushed down the Princess's face. She toppled backward, her furious screams eventually turning into cries of hopelessness and defeat. As Azula tried to get free, her efforts slowly lost their worth.

Katara looked at her for a moment before putting a hand on Zuko's arm, looking at him as he watched his broken sister.

* * *

Zuko never thought that this would be the way he became the Firelord. He never even thought he _would_ become Firelord. None of that would be possible if he hadn't joined the Avatar's group when he did. Most of this was thanks to Katara, who had, in the end, been the one to break Azula. He did feel bad about that, but he owed his life to Katara. He wouldn't be there then, accepting his crown, if it weren't for her being there in the first place, and, most of all, on his side. He stepped out from behind the curtain, his short hair pulled back into a bun and the Firelord symbol sticking up from his head, the crown finally on a rightful candidate.

He greeted Aang, who had just stolen his father's bending powers from him, eliminating the threat without taking a life. Aang approached him and immediately gave him a hug, something that Zuko willingly returned, and the two of them stepped back, giving each other a nod. Zuko moved away from the Avatar, smiling softly and then turning toward his quarters.

Parts of the palace had been severely damaged during the end of the war and during the Agni Kai battle, but Zuko was not in any hurry to fix it. He intended to leave a few scars, something that he would use to remind his children of the Fire Nation's history, and hopefully the people of the Fire Nation as well. He looked at his home, his true home, happy to no longer be an outsider - a loner, an outlaw - but then his eyes settled on a more troublesome matter.

He walked up to his room, seeing his current girlfriend, Mai, standing there. She turned around and looked at him, a small smile showing on her face. She had helped him get ready for the coronation just hours before, but something felt off now. After seeing Katara in the crowd, her eyes bright and happy as Zuko was crowned with the crest of the Firelord, Mai didn't seem to be quite enough then. He took a deep breath and gave her a smile.

"What are you doing here, Mai?" he asked, moving past her.

She was still going to be a dear friend of his', but he needed to end this before she got any more ideas of where this was headed.

"I am your girlfriend, right?" she asked in her monotone, sarcastic voice. She leaned against a pillar in his room and lifted an eyebrow at him.

Zuko looked at her and sighed, closing his eyes.

"Look, I'm glad you're...okay...and everything, Mai," he said, biting his lower lip. He was never really good with words. "Like I'm super happy that my sister didn't decide to end you and all...but...I don't think this - us - will work."

Then, Zuko couldn't meet her eyes, feeling the tension grow in the air. He knew that was not what she wanted to hear, but she had to. He had feelings for someone else, something that he hadn't come to terms with until the coronation ceremony.

Without words, Zuko moved to look in a mirror, knowing that Mai's gaze was following him. He was growing quite hot in his Firelord robes, but he knew that he needed to keep them on, because that was who he was then. He was Firelord and he needed to step into that position. This was awkward and tense and he didn't like it, but he couldn't keep Mai in his life, at least not like that.

Mai didn't say anything for the longest time before he moved to walk past her. She thrust her hand out and blocked his path. His gaze shifted to her, and he couldn't help but think that he never thought that he'd see her cry.

"I hate you, Zuko," she said, a large frown developing on her face. " _Damn you_."

Before Zuko could explain anything, she moved away, her hands going into her sleeves. Though her frown got quite large, she never let him see her shed a tear. She corrected her posture and he watched her walk away, knowing that she'd find someone who could treat her so much better than he ever would be able to.

But had he just made a mistake? Had he just let go of the person that knew nearly everything about him? Did he just let go of the person who could make him his happiest? Was he really risking this, pledging himself to Katara when he wasn't even sure if she felt the same way? He stood there, watching the girl with the jet black hair and the piercing eyes walk away from him. No matter how he questioned himself, he realized that Mai wasn't the person for him. That was clear now. It had always been clear - he had just been afraid to admit it to himself. He obviously never meant to hurt Mai in the process, after she had faced his sister back at that prison, setting him free to do what had to be done. He was still indebted to this girl, but he did not love her, at least not anymore. That shook him to the core of his being, and he never thought he'd ever think those words about Mai.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her direction, not even sure if she heard him or not. It was an apology for failing her and probably severely bruising her heart in the process. But Mai was strong, he knew that. He knew she could take care of herself, that someone would love her as much as he once did.

With one last look at her, he took a deep breath and walked down from his quarters, moving to meet the rest of his friends for a small celebration.

* * *

Katara stepped outside, overlooking a bay in the Fire Nation that she never would have ever thought she'd have a chance to see. Her hair was not in her usual braid and it was down, wavy, cascading down against her bright green dress. It had become almost too stifling in the room where everyone was celebrating, and knowing what she was going to have to say to Aang was nearly killing her. She did have a bond with the boy and he would remain one of her best friends, one of her closest allies and someone she could always trust. But that didn't change the fact that, while Aang did have romantic feelings for her, Katara did not reciprocate the feelings that Aang had presented to her so many times in the past few months. She leaned against a railing and sighed, a slight frown on her face as she looked out at the sunset. In other pretenses - if she had felt the same about Aang - this would quite nearly be the perfect setting for a confession. She really hoped he wouldn't hate sunsets now.

After standing there a few moments, she heard footsteps behind her. Swirling around, she saw Aang standing there, looking like he had just seen a ethereal angel, something that was otherworldly.

"Aang," she said quietly, a soft smile spreading across her face. "I was just getting some air. I'll be back inside in a few minutes, I promise-"

She moved towards the door but Aang touched her hand, willing her to stay and face the fact that she needed to tell him, sooner or later.

"I was actually looking for you," he said. "You see, Katara, I have something to tell-"

"I know," she whispered, cutting him off. She looked at the ground, her throat closing up and making it nearly impossible to speak. If she did not tell him, though, it would be more cruel to prolong everything.

"Oh," he said simply. "Why does it seem like you're going to cry, then?"

At that moment, she looked at him, a tear running down her face.

"Aang," she said. "I know what you're going to say. How you feel about me... All of that is pretty clear from the way you kissed me before the Eclipse."

He stared down at her, his face falling slowly. She bit her lip, willing herself to keep going.

"I know you hoped I would eventually, someday, feel the same," she said. "But I don't. I'm sorry. I tried, but... It's not the sort of thing you can force."

Aang still stood there silently. His hand had left her's then, and he moved towards the railing she was just leaning on. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and looked back at her.

"Okay."

Katara looked up at him in surprise, her lips parting, trying to form words. She was surprised by his automatic response, that it seemed not to phase him. She just said that she didn't feel the same way, that she did not love him the way he so obviously loved her. Why wasn't he angry? Did he not take her seriously, or was that his morals and what his culture taught him speaking in his head?

"Thank you for being honest with me. I know how hard that must've been for you," Aang stated, then turning around and moving past her. "I'll see you tomorrow. I have to get to bed."

Maybe, after all, it was affecting him more than he could bare showing her. Maybe he needed privacy, or some distance. He had to expect this outcome, didn't he? Either way, Katara couldn't hold onto that at the moment. She did what she had to do.

Katara watched as he left the balcony they had both been standing on. She watched with her lips parted, with words that she still wanted to say to him disappearing from her lips. From beyond him, she saw the face of the new Firelord, dimly illuminated by the candlelight. She looked at him for a moment and nodded once, signalling that she was alright. That she would be alright.

Eventually.

Right now, though, she needed to be alone. She walked into the room, wiping her tears away and said goodnight to everyone there. Then she went to her room, laid in her bed for a little while, and slept for a good, long time.


	5. Chapter 4 - Hesitant

**A/N:** I did not know how hard this chapter was going to be to write, but I did it! I hope it's not too monotonous. I promise the heavy romance will be coming soon! I'm pretty proud of myself for drawing it out so much, honestly. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter! More is on it's way!

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Let It All Go by Birdy  & RHODES

* * *

Zuko almost hated to see Katara leave. It had been months of having her, as well as the rest of his friends, constantly in his life. The fact that they had to leave and pursue what else they needed to do made him kind of upset. He would have happily let them all stay longer, but he did understand that everyone needed to do their part to restore peace to the world. His part was to redeem the Fire Nation, and Katara had her own part.

The past few days, the Water Tribe girl had haunted his thoughts. When he forgot about thinking about her, she would pop up again in his head, and it was getting harder and harder to shake it off each time. He didn't exactly know what to do, since it had come up so unexpectedly. Distance from her might be the best thing for him at the moment, since it was an inevitable outcome no matter what. He would be able to do what he needed without her distraction, though it never felt like she was. Then again, he hadn't thought of her in any way except as a friend for so long. Something definitely shifted if he was this disappointed from being away from her now.

That morning, he sat in his bath, thinking about how he could thank them all for what they did, what they helped him do. It was surreal to think that they wouldn't see each other as much as they had now, that they needed to go their separate ways and make sure to visit each other often. He definitely had no doubt that he was going to see them sooner rather than later. The bathtub was a good place to decide things, and he saw more of this in his future.

As the fire burned around his lava rock tub, the water foggy with his soap and grime, he stood carefully and grabbed his towel, wiping his face and then running the fabric over his scarred body. He stared at himself in the mirror, wrapping the towel around his waist and walking closer to his reflection. This scar was now a reminder of what had happened, just like the one on his face. He took a deep breath and ran his fingertips over the pink skin, then turning away rapidly and moving to his bedroom, servants with his robes and his Firelord symbol ready and waiting.

Once he was dressed, he went down to his dining room, finding most of his friends already there. He gave them a smile and they greeted him with jokes and laughter, something completely different to his life before he met them.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, moving to sit next to Sokka.

"Oh, this is for Suki," the other boy said, shrugging. "Sorry, Flameo, but this spot is _occupado_. Just went to take a tinkle, but she'll be back soon."

Zuko nodded and looked around the room, finding that the only seat left was next to Katara. He had to admit that sitting next to her wasn't his first choice, but he definitely had to. It wasn't like he could sit in the middle of the table and eat like that. This was definitely the safer option for keeping up with the standard he was trying to raise for the Fire Nation.

"Hey," Katara said, smiling softly up at him.

"Hey, yourself," Zuko said, smiling softly back. He rarely smiled - how was it that Katara could make him smile so easily?

After their greeting, they continued to talk and muse about what the future would be like, now that Zuko's father, Ozai, had been dethroned. Zuko listened intently as Katara spoke, though it appeared like he was bored. She stopped abruptly and laughed to herself, shaking her head.

"Am I boring you? Because I'm sorry if I am," she said, an apologetic smile on her face.

With a bit of a dopey look, Zuko shook his head quickly.

"No, no, quite the opposite, actually," he said, giving her another small smile. Hopefully she wasn't noticing that, or that he was playing with the sleeves of his robes as he ate.

The end of breakfast came all too soon, and they all rose when they were all finished.

It was time to say goodbye, for now.

* * *

Katara woke up that morning with slightly puffy eyes from crying the night before. She didn't even remember crying, but she supposed that maybe a dream or nightmare had caused it. Either way, she doused her skin with some water and felt some of the swelling go down, then moving to get dressed and down to breakfast.

This was the last time that she was going to see everyone for a long time, and she didn't know how that was all going to work. She and Sokka were going back to their home to help start to rebuild. Aang was going to figure out how to restore the Air Nomads. Toph was probably going to go somewhere quiet, out of sight and out of mind, since she wasn't too fond of people. Zuko, obviously, was going to stay here and help restore and redeem the Fire Nation. Maybe something would require them to be working together again, but she wasn't sure. It made her pretty nervous to go back to the way things were, except without the threat of the Fire Nation now.

As she made her way downstairs, she realized that Aang was the only one present at the moment. Seeing the airbender all alone at the table, his eyes closed as he meditated, made Katara tempted to head back upstairs, but she couldn't avoid the boy forever. She sat across from him, keeping as quiet as she could as she sat down, sitting and looking around the room, it's rich red and gold colors making the fire that was surrounding them on small torches look right at home, something that was unusual to her. For a girl that was used to dining in igloos or small huts, this was quite different. She also didn't understand why they needed fire torches when large windows spread across the walls. Her focus was broken when Sokka and Suki, the giggling idiots in love they were, came down the stairs and saw that she and Aang were already sitting there. They tried stifling their laughter, but it seemed to be too difficult for them.

"Good morning, you two," Katara said, laughing a bit herself.

Zuko was still nowhere to be seen, but Katara figured he was a bit busy, possibly taking care of important matters. She chatted a bit with those of them who started to trickle in, Toph, Ty Lee, Mai... When Zuko finally came in, she watched him carefully, trying to sit in the spot that Suki had just vacated.

Now Katara felt like he didn't want to be near her. What was happening? Had she done something? She can't recall doing anything that would be upsetting to him. Maybe splitting up was affecting all of them more than she realized. Either way, she put a smile on her face and was relieved when they were able to joke around a little with each other before she had to depart.

When everyone stood, Katara moved to join them, following Zuko out of the door that led to Appa. Aang had offered to take Sokka and Katara home, and it just felt right, going back to the place where all of their journeys started. She walked down to the courtyard where Appa had stayed. People were still helping with packing everything they had, but they didn't have much and it was going to be over before Katara knew it. She turned to Toph, smiling and moving to give the girl a hug.

"Don't be a stranger," Katara told Toph. "You're welcome to come and stay with us if you ever feel like it."

"I won't be too much of a stranger, but if you expect me visit often, you're mistaken. I don't like cold things on my feet."

"Fair enough," she said, laughing a bit at Toph's words. "Talk to you soon, then."

"See ya, Sugar Queen," Toph replied, smiling. "Oh _wait_ , no, I won't."

With one more ceremonious wave in front of her eyes, Aang walked up and moved to talk to Toph, while Zuko approached Katara.

"So," Zuko said to Katara, smiling softly. "Now that I have your trust... Would you want to visit? Want me to visit you?"

"That is a definite most likely," Katara said, tilting her head. Her long hair moved with her head movement and she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"A definite most likely, huh?" Zuko seemed to clarify. "I'll take it."

"I'm glad," Katara said, grinning as she looked at him.

She did notice that the symbol of the Fire Nation was off-kilter in his bun. She hesitated a bit before reaching up and straightening it, happy that Zuko leaned down a little bit so she could more easily grasp the symbol and adjust it slightly. She took a step back before she heard Aang call her name, announcing that they were about to leave. She nodded to him and then turned back to Zuko.

"Well," she said. "I'll see you soon, then."

Zuko took a step closer to her and she felt her heart start racing. What was happening? He let his fingers brush the soft skin of her arm before he gave her a quick hug.

"Definitely," he whispered into her ear, in response to her closing statement.

She felt chills roll over her body, and after a few more moments, she broke away from his arms and turned towards Appa.

As they lifted into the sky, Katara watched Zuko as she began her long journey home. Their dad was already there, and she would be extremely happy to be back where she seemed to belong. Though, she was beginning to wonder if that could be the only place she belonged now. Everything had changed, now that the threat of war was no longer an immediate issue. Maybe she didn't just belong at the South Pole anymore.

Either way, she'd have plenty of time to contemplate it as she watched Zuko and the Fire Nation fade in the horizon, on her way home.


	6. Chapter 5 - Together

**A/N** : Ahhhhh! Budding romance time! They're getting closer and closer and I just can't wait until these two get even more of a connection! Thanks to everyone who has been staying tuned. You're keeping me going. I really hope I'm portraying them in a good way, true to their characters. I figured that now the threat of war is practically nonexistent that they would start seeing more of a humorous side of each other. Angst and heavy romance and sexual scenes and much, much more will be happening eventually! Stay tuned, I'll try to update whenever I have a new chapter complete, and I will definitely keep this trend going. :)

 **Song Muse for this chapter** : I Could Be The One by Avicii and Nicky Romero (Acoustic Version)

* * *

Six months had passed since the end of the war, the time having passed far more quickly than Katara could have ever imagined. It was the first time she had ever felt truly at peace in her life, and she still found herself wondering if her tribe was going to have to face another attack. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, and by that moment, they had found a more permanent home that was on a bigger patch of ice.

Katara had been hard at work, helping with rebuilding, along with a few benders from the Northern Water Tribe. Now, they had proper housing as well as a few official buildings already built. There was still a long ways to go, but they no longer had to worry about all of their work being destroyed by the Fire Nation. It had been eerily uneventful, and there was still a constant fear prevalent in the South, no matter how much her father and Sokka had tried to keep the peace. There were those who believed that Firelord Zuko would keep his word, and those who were wary to the point of ridiculous ideas being planted in their heads, driven by the fear that they had known their whole lives. Most of the returned soldiers were with their families now, and those who were gone were laid to rest in a symbolic way. Things were closing on the chapter of war, but the families were still paranoid. No matter how much Sokka, as well as herself, pacified them, their lives were built on fear and defiance. She didn't know if that aspect would ever change, but she had to be persistent. It had been six months of no attacks. Hopefully they would start grasping the reality of it all. She didn't want her friends to live in fear all of the time, since there was really nothing to fear anymore. It was hard for Katara to see people unnecessarily instill fear in each other. Her dad tried his best as well, but it was started to put a strain on Katara, try to pacify them all while trying to rebuild.

She took position with one of her Northern Tribe friends, Tonna, to build another state building out of the snow and ice that surrounded them. They had been working together for quite a long time now, and they had developed a rhythm. Contrary to popular belief, building using waterbending wasn't the easiest and it required a lot of muscle use and concentration. But the two of them usually got at least half of a building done in a day, and they were truly a team with both speed and effort put into their bending. Also, they didn't mess around until their work for the day was done, so that made it easier.

Katara wiped sweat from her brow and looked over at Tonna, smiling at the other girl. After finishing that building, they looked at each other and nodded, moving some water to their mouths and starting to walk away.

"So," Tonna said. "I do believe you have a meeting with some Northern officials and the Firelord in the North soon, don't you?"

Katara nodded. She had agreed to go with her father and brother to help settle negotiations. Somehow, through her letters, she had persuaded Suki to join them so she wouldn't be the only girl on the journey, but with what Tonna was possibly asking, Katara might've not needed to do it.

"Why?" Katara said, lifting an eyebrow at the other woman.

"I do miss home…" Tonna told her, looking down.

Katara frowned and gave her a look, bending down and picking up a bit of snow, turning it into a ball and then throwing it at Tonna.

"Be straightforward, you dork!" Katara giggled. "Are you asking to come with me?"

Tonna gave Katara a sheepish look, shrugging and then starting to walk again. Katara followed, moving to stand next to the other.

"I want to," Tonna admitted. "But will I be allowed to? That's the question."

"I'm inviting you as my guest, so of course you will be," Katara declared. She knew how important home was to Tonna, and frankly, Katara felt the same way about the Southern Water Tribe. This would always be her home. Those thoughts she had traveling back here from the Fire Nation pretty much solidified that this was her home. That didn't mean that she had times of wanderlust, but it did mean that this was where her heart would always be.

"C'mon," Tonna challenged. "Race you back to the Circle."

Katara grinned impishly at her friend, nodding and jumping nimbly on a sled she made from the ice around her.

* * *

Zuko knew that seeing Katara would probably bring up feelings he had kept buried deep inside of himself. It had been nearly six months since he last saw the Water Tribe girl, and he was prepared to be hit by feelings that had seemed to be going nowhere, at least for the time being. He had pushed them to the back of his mind, but as he packed his own suitcase, with help from his servants (most of whom had become his dearest friends), he realized what he was going to either have to quench or let fizzle out. He had enough days to think about his feelings for Katara, and now he needed to face them head-on, or regret a few of his choices.

The only thing he could hope for was that she would feel the same way about him, that she wouldn't push him away, as much as she could possibly want to.

Before the war ended, their relationship could've quite possibly been taboo. Knowing his father, he would have severed any hope of a bond that Katara and Zuko may have shared, no matter the outcome of the war. But that wasn't the case anymore, not with Zuko in power. He was extremely level-headed and peace-oriented, even though he still had a bit of a temper. It was nothing compared to his father.

He went over the list in his head, of the things he needed to bring with him. He knew he would be in the North for a longer period of time, since negotiations took patience. Though he felt like he'd be sacrificing a lot in order to become an ally of the Water Tribes. Either way, he had to be prepared to do a lot more than he wanted. Hopefully, they wouldn't take advantage of his position.

With everything packed, he nodded to his servants to start packing his air ship. He changed into his more official robes instead of his around-the-house clothes, which were usually worn only when he was not busy with advisement and meetings.

Once his robes were on and his long hair was pulled back into his standard bun, he put his Firelord symbol in his hair, looking at himself in the mirror and straightening it, just like Katara had done months before.

* * *

A loud roar came overhead as Katara and Tonna ate their seaweed noodles, and Katara would know that noise from a mile away.

"Appa!" she called, grinning from ear to ear as the sky bison landed, Aang not following far behind. "Aang!"

"Katara!" Aang shouted, grinning and running up to the Water Tribe girl, giving her a huge hug.

"Have you gotten taller?" Katara asked, pulling away from the Avatar and lifting her eyebrows. "You almost seem taller than Sokka now!"

"Well, I have been growing up, y'know," he joked, pushing her shoulder gently. "I'm not the only one who's been maturing from the Gaang!"

Katara laughed and shook her head, rolling her eyes a little bit. She had written to Aang a while back, wanting him to pick everyone up and take them to the North. Appa was the fastest mode of transportation to get there, even if they had to make stops. At most, it took them three days, compared to the three weeks by sea, if they were lucky.

"Thanks for doing this," Katara said, smiling. "I really do appreciate it."

Tonna cleared her throat and Aang lifted his eyebrows, blinking.

"Katara," Aang said, taking a step towards Tonna. "Who is this?"

"This is-"

"I'm," Tonna interrupted, giving Katara a look. "Tonna. It's nice to meet you, Avatar."

"Nice to meet you, too!" Aang replied, a grin prevalent on his face.

Katara narrowed her eyes at the two and then went back to the center of the Circle, moving to eat her seaweed noodles. Tonna and Aang followed, sitting next to Katara.

They sat there for a while, catching up and laughing. Katara could tell there was something starting between Tonna and Aang, and once she was done eating, she went to go to her tent, finding her brother and father finishing their packing.

"Aang's here," she announced, smiling at them. "You should get a move on."

She grabbed her already-packed things and moved towards Appa, smiling when she saw the beast. She laughed when Appa gave her a big kiss, standing there afterwards when she had slobber all over herself.

"I can't believe I'm saying this," she told the animal. "But I missed you too. A lot."

A familiar chittering noise started, and a shadow passed over her, Momo then landing on her shoulder.

"I missed you too, Momo," she said, tickling under the flying lemur's chin and laughing more when he flew away.

She had missed things like this, being on the road almost constantly. Seeing Appa and Aang just reminded her of how much she missed traveling. She didn't miss the fighting, but the traveling, the seeing the world? Yes, definitely. Once she was done with rebuilding, she did hope to travel around the world some more, or at least get out of the South for a while again. She loved her home, but her wanderlust kept growing.

Once she finished greeting Appa and Momo, she threw her luggage onto Appa's saddle and climbed up, waiting for her father and Sokka to load up. On the way, they would pick up Suki, and then they would be on their way to the Northern Tribe.

Before long, the rest of the traveling party came and loaded their stuff, and they were off. Katara was incredibly happy that Tonna was able to come along, especially since she was probably missing her family. Now that Aang and Tonna had hit it off, too, Katara was left without a conversation partner, but it was okay, especially if it meant that Aang was able to move on from Katara. She was convinced their friendship never really fully healed, that they were always going to have a touch of guilt left over from the results of his admission. But they were getting better, and every time she saw him, she was getting happier and happier. She took a deep breath, smiling as she watched the small patches of land whizz away as Appa flew quickly, the sea and trees turning into blurs as they passed them.

* * *

Zuko got to the North a day before any of his friends got there, and he was beginning to get a little stir-crazy. It was cold, and he was starting to feel slightly out of his element. He felt like he was being stared at no matter where he walked, and he didn't necessarily like it. However, instead of hiding, he walked taller, waiting to hear of anything about his friends coming.

A few hours later, he heard a loud roaring sound, something extremely familiar. His lips curled into a soft smile as he looked up, seeing a familiar bison about to land near the docks. It took everything in him not to run towards his closest friends, but he managed to do it, somehow. He kept his smile on his face as he walked to where Appa landed, seeing everyone start to unpack.

"Zuko!" he heard Aang call, with the boy running to him and hugging him. Aang had never really been subtle about greetings and seeing people he hadn't for a while. Though, his voice did sound a little less childish and a bit more mature, as well as his height being a bit different. He was growing up, and Zuko supposed he, himself, was as well.

"Hey," Zuko said, chuckling a little bit when he hugged Aang back quickly. He smiled down at the boy and moved to give Sokka a handshake before moving to see Katara standing with Suki and a girl he didn't recognize.

Katara was smiling and talking to her friends, and Zuko just watched her for a moment, a soft smile on his face as he did. Seeing her in full Water Tribe garb was definitely a change, but she seemed to be becoming a woman in her absence and he had to swallow the lump of nervousness growing in his throat.

"Hey, Katara," he greeted, putting the smile back on his face.

Katara turned to look at him, a smile spreading across her lips as she moved to go and give him a hug.

"Zuko," she murmured as she hugged him.

Her hug was short but it was definitely enough for the moment.

"How have you been?" he asked, moving to go and help her carry her stuff.

"I've been good," she said, then turning towards the girl he hadn't recognized. "This is Tonna; she's from here, so she could possibly show us around a bit, if she would want to."

Katara looked at her and Zuko gave Tonna a sheepish smile, raising his shoulders slightly, as if he was going to shrug. This girl seemed to be like Katara in a way, so hopefully she would be willing, though he couldn't blame her if she didn't want to show the Firelord around the Northern Water Tribe.

"I'd be happy to," Tonna said, then moving past them to talk to Aang.

"I think she might have a thing for Aang," Katara gossiped, and Zuko looked back at her, lifting his eyebrows.

"I thought Aang had a thing for you," he replied, lifting an eyebrow.

"No, not for a while," Katara admitted. "You remember that day with that small celebration? He went out to see me on the balcony? That's when I told him I didn't feel the same."

"Ah, I see," he said. Well, that made this slightly easier on him, if he decided to do anything about it.

"But it's good to see him happy," she said, smiling in Tonna and Aang's direction. Zuko looked from Katara to the two as well, nodding in agreement. It was good for them, that was for sure. After looking at Aang and Tonna chase after each other for a moment, Zuko looked back at Katara.

"So where should I take these?" he asked her, lifting his eyebrows at the stuff he was carrying.

Katara looked back at him and smirked a little bit, picking up the remainder of her luggage. She lifted an eyebrow at him and laughed softly.

"Wow," she said. "I never thought that I would have Prince - _Firelord_ \- Zuko offer to take my luggage to my room at the Northern Tribe."

At that, Zuko laughed, shrugging a little overdramatically.

"Things change all the time," he replied.

"Very true."

"Okay, so tell me where you want this stuff, 'cuz I'm pretty sure you packed enough to clothe 5 other people and it feels like my arm's going to fall off."

"He jokes, too! I think I'm gonna like getting to know this Zuko."

"Shut up and lead on, Katara," Zuko teased.

"Alright, alright," Katara exclaimed, giving him a bit of a look and then walking forward.

Now that everything was dying down, getting peaceful, he had to say that he was looking forward to getting to know the joking Katara as well, to possibly start up some banter in the later days when everything else had to be serious and professional. He followed her, almost wanting to take his robes off so he didn't trip, but managed nonetheless. He had to keep up appearances, after all.

When he reached Katara's room, he set her stuff down on the floor and looked around. It was dimly lit, and Zuko wasn't accustomed to rooms like this. Thankfully he wouldn't have to be in the North for very long.

"Different to what you're used to, huh?" Katara asked. "Believe me, I understand. Think of how I felt when I was in the Fire Nation. But our rooms are designed to keep the warmth in and the cold out, I suppose, without melting the ice."

Zuko nodded slowly as she spoke, shrugging again.

"Makes sense to me," he said, smiling at her. "Is that it?"

Katara looked around and nodded in affirmation.

"That's it," she said. "Are you doing anything right now?"

Zuko looked from the small window to Katara suddenly and his eyes widened a little bit.

"No," he said. "Though it might be a good idea to unpack my own room."

Katara looked at him and pressed her lips together.

"No servants to do it for you?" she let slip past her lips.

Zuko narrowed his eyes slightly and shoved her shoulder, laughing softly.

"Are you ever going to stop with the royalty jokes?" he asked. "Have you gotten as bad as Toph? Are you spending too much time near Sokka?"

Katara giggled and shook her head.

"I don't know, but don't let me keep you from unpacking your room, Zuko," she said, turning to pick up her bag and start unpacking as much as she could. "I'll see you later."

"Right, sounds good," he replied, moving to the doorway.

Before he left, he looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"I'm happy to see you again, Katara," he told her.

She stopped and looked at him, a grin spreading across her lips.

"Right back at you, Zuko."


	7. Chapter 6 - Journeys

**A/N** : Okayyyy so I'm sorry this took a little while. I am happy I got this chapter finished, but I'm not entirely sure how it will be received? It;s not my favorite, it's not my best. But nonetheless, I do think that this moment for them is crucial. This is when Zuko fully realizes how deeply he feels for Katara, and it's a part of Katara that she's opening up to the man she literally did not trust for a majority of her life. I do think it's important that they're exploring their friendship/connection. I just hope that's translated into this chapter and this chapter doesn't totally suck like I think it does XD (I'm trying not to be too hard on myself, honestly. But bear with me.)

Either way! I hope you enjoy it and the next chapter will be even more entertaining, I promise! I keep adding chapter ideas, and I have about 38 total at the moment! It keep expanding, and I just hope I can write all of them 3 either way, enjoy!

 **Song Muse for this chapter** : Oblivion by Bastille

* * *

After unpacking, Katara looked around her room. So this would be where she stayed until everything got settled. She wondered if anything eventful would happen for her personally, knowing full well that wasn't the reason she was here, but she couldn't help herself. Now that the war was over, she had to think of all aspects of her future. Who would she get betrothed to? How would peace worldwide affect her life? Will there be a time where another threat of war will arise? Will there be a time when she doesn't have anything left to do? All she knew was that she had to continue down her path, even if she makes a choice she is unsure of. After the experience she had this past year, she would be able to take on whatever else life threw at her, that was for sure.

After a little while of just sitting in the room, she stood up and walked outside, crossing her arms and squinting her eyes as the snow fell from the sky. She was still not quite used to the weather yet, having been in the Fire Nation, where it was much, much warmer. She pulled her hood over her head and walked to the royal palace from her quarters around the corner, smiling when she walked up to it.

So many months ago, she had mastered waterbending in this very courtyard, helping Yue and her father, Chief Arnook, with stopping the Fire Nation's advance. She remembered Zuko finding all of them in the Spirit Oasis, knocking Katara out and taking Aang. He had almost gotten away, but before Zuko could escape, Katara had found him. Now the fact that Zuko was there seeking peace would probably go sour sometimes, but Zuko was a changed man. Katara had to remember that.

"Katara," she heard a familiar voice say, and she spun around to see the very boy she had been thinking about.

"Hey," she breathed, smiling softly. "I was just remembering the last time I was here. Yue, you kidnapping Aang and defeating me... I just hope the Chief is as forgiving as I am."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," he confessed. "I don't know what I'd do if I can't manage to negotiate peace with them. Am I ready to do this?"

"Zuko," Katara said, frowning. "Do you need me there? I'll already be there but I can... I don't know, sit next to you or something. And Aang will be there. So will Sokka and my dad. You have people on your side who know what you're really trying to achieve."

Zuko looked at her as she spoke, pressing his lips together, and Katara just knew that she had to convince him that everything would somehow be okay. She could tell that he was worried that they wouldn't listen to him, that they might take him seriously. That needed to be wiped from his mind as soon as possible. He couldn't retreat now, after all.

"Please trust me, Zuko," Katara said, frowning slightly as she placed a hand on his arm in an effort to comfort him in a way. "They'll come around if they don't-"

"It's not that I don't trust you," he told her, interrupting her train of thought. She stopped talking then, swallowing as her eyes widened a little bit.

She never really thought about it, but, even though she had forgiven him in the past, she hadn't really thought if she trusted him fully. She hadn't given herself a chance to figure out if she had any trust in him. In the moment, knowing that he trusted her gave her a little bit of a mental nudge to think about it further. He obviously had thought about it and he deserved for her to at least think about it. With that thought now planted in her head, she looked up at him and nodded.

"Okay," she said. "Then what is it?"

Zuko looked at her and had an unreadable expression on his face. His mouth opened and he looked like he was finding the right words to say, but he ended up not saying anything. Katara tilted her head a little bit and sighed.

"Well, either way," she said. "It's just the welcome dinner tonight. No negotiations really have to happen until tomorrow."

Zuko gave her a tiny smile at that, something so small she could barely see it, but she knew it was there. With that, she tugged a little bit on his sleeve and smiled, a mischievous look in her eye.

"C'mon," she said, nodding her head in the opposite direction. "I'll show you around. See the culture here."

With that, Zuko nodded, and Katara let go of his sleeve and started to walk down from the palace, knowing exactly where she needed to take him.

* * *

Zuko trusted Katara more than she could ever know, at least at that point. His trust in her was more solid than he realized. However, he trusted his uncle far more than he ever trusted anyone, and it wasn't too surprising that Katara was starting to rival his uncle on that front. He definitely had feeling developing for his friend, and for that moment, he had to push them deep down until he felt ready to do something - or nothing - about it. He wouldn't even know how to talk to her about it, and what if he was rejected like Aang had been? True, his feelings for Katara might not be nearly as strong as Aang's had been, but they were definitely growing, and they were far more distracting than he predicted. Just watching her walk in front of him made him almost trip on his robes a few times, and he had to play it off like he was fine, when, in reality, he was almost getting more doomed by each moment that passed with Katara.

After walking for a few minutes, they stopped in a big open area, with waterfalls cascading down a large cliff face. Between the waterfalls were totems depicting animals. Stairs led up to temple that Zuko was a bit unsure about, but Katara didn't seem focused on that. On the ground, where they were currently standing, there were large totem-like structures and pools of water that were probably used as resources for whatever this place was for. He turned in a few circles, following Katara as she moved more towards the steps.

"What is this place?" Zuko asked, looking over at Katara.

"My grandfather's school for waterbenders," she clarified. "He taught me here, and this is where I mastered quite a lot of my waterbending, right before the Siege of the North. When you kidnapped Aang and he defeated Admiral Zhao."

Zuko remembered those days clearly, as he did with the other days from the war. He remembered the blue light beaming up into the sky in the South, and he remembered living poorly in the Earth Kingdom. He remembered everything, clear as day, and he felt guilty and ashamed for all of those days now. But he had to remember that sending the assassin after the Avatar is what changed his mind anyways. That, and his father mistreating him further than he had ever expected, once he had restored his honor. He was starting to feel a bit sick to his stomach, thinking about his past, especially since so much of this world's grief was caused by him and his ridiculous ideals and wishes. Were they really going to listen? Katara had already told him about the unrest in the Southern Tribe. Why wouldn't it be any different up here, too?

Apparently Zuko was making a face because Katara nudged him from his reverie, a concerned look on her face. He gave her a small smile and took a deep breath.

"What are you thinking?" she asked him, lifting her eyebrows in question. "Because whatever it is, it's making a vein on your forehead pop out a little bit and it looks kind of creepy, to say the least."

She gave him a smile and he just shook his head. He had to have a little more faith in himself, to figure out a way to negotiate even a small victory for both parties in the discussion. It wouldn't be easy, but that's definitely one thing that peace wasn't. As Katara looked at him, he could feel the nervousness and doubt in himself swim away. It would surely come up at a later point in time, but he will remember Katara's trust in him and that would help him get through those days much easier.

"So," he said. "This is where you've trained, huh?"

Katara nodded.

"I expected some sort of slab of ice or gigantic cave," he joked, shielding his eyes from the sun that was blazing overhead. With some of the sun's glare gone, he got a better view of everything, how it all seemed flawlessly built. He wasn't too surprised that this was where she trained.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, shoving him a little bit and surprising him, thus putting him slightly off-balance.

"You better not do that again," he warned, smirking a little bit. If Katara, who hated him a mere few months ago, could trust and like him enough to joke around with him, what was to say he couldn't eventually gain everyone's trust? He was more worried about the words he was going to use, since the last time he had rehearsed something, he appeared awkward and not at all royal or precise. He looked down at her and mimicked her stance, crossing his arms and lifting an eyebrow.

"Are you mocking me, Firelord?" she asked, leaning forward a little bit.

"Am I?" he said, smirking and tilting his head a little bit.

"Well, as long as it distracts you from your self-deprecating thoughts, I don't mind," she admitted. "Is it entertaining?"

"Oh, very," he confirmed. "Quite entertaining indeed. Hard to believe you're a diplomat now. Though, it's hard for me to believe that I'm one as well."

"You're not a foreign diplomat, you're the Firelord," she said. "You have foreign diplomats."

"How do you know so much about Fire Nation politics and foreign diplomacy?" he questioned, lifting his eyebrows in surprise.

"I made it my job after the war," she said. "That's what I've been doing: helping my brother and dad with foreign diplomacy - be the 'female perspective' - and then while they're away, I help build a more permanent village in the South, that I hope will be as impressive as the North is, eventually."

Zuko blinked at her in surprise. He swallowed and then laughed a little bit.

"You should remind me not to get on your bad side," he said, still laughing slightly. "I already know that I should never ever get in that place again, but... still. Even moreso now."

"You're right," she confirmed.

"I care far too much about how to see me to ever get on your bad side, I think," he told her.

"Well, good to hear," she replied, smiling softly. "I don't want you getting on my bad side either."

Zuko smiled down at her and then looked around some more, taking a few steps forward to see more of the training space. After a few glances, he turned and looked at Katara.

"So," he said. "Why don't you show me a few waterbending moves? I could possibly apply them to my firebending. Maybe."

With a smile, Katara nodded and assumed her starting position.

As she started to bend, Zuko let his Firelord robes drop, shivering at the cold but eventually being okay as he started to firebend with her. The thin fabric covering his torso and legs offered little warmth but the movements he did while following Katara helped a little, as well as the fire that started to flow from his limbs.

Time was lost while they danced, fire and water becoming a beautiful scene, breathing life into the still air that had just been filled with light snow. Who knows? It could still be snowing, but both of them seemed so lost in the art of bending. He hadn't truly _bended_ like this until now, and it felt good doing this with Katara, replicating her moves and making his firebending more fluid. His uncle did say once that they were close, that moves and techniques could be transferred from one element to another. This wasn't a power struggle, either; it was a new dance that some people would find enthralling and mesmerizing, that he was sure about. Zuko watched Katara closely, and she watched him. After what seemed only like seconds, dusk was coming upon them and they were breathing heavily, sweat beading on their brow.

"Thanks for that," Zuko breathed, a little bit out of breath from all the activity. "I definitely needed that."

"No problem," Katara said, smiling.

"We should go get ready, hmm?" he asked her, wiping some sweat off his forehead. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Sounds good," she replied, nodding in agreement.

He walked with her down to her room before retreating to his.

Why did that feel so different than all the other times? It could be a mixture of multiple things, like the fact that they weren't preparing to fight some real person, or the fact that he was slowly falling for her and it was starting to take over his life, moment by moment. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it at the moment, and he hoped it wasn't the last time they did that, the last time they danced.


	8. Chapter 7 - Starving

**A/N** : FINALLY. ANOTHER CHAPTER. I'm so sorry this took so long to release, but I had a bit of writer's block. I promise the next one won't be as long of a wait, especially since the juices have started to flow again. ANYWAYS! I'm just squeeing because these two are so cute and so strong together and I love it. I just hope I'm doing their characters justice, and I'm sure moody!Zuko will come along in the next few chapters as the negotiations are continuing. But we're actually really going into the romance starting the next chapter, and I CANNOT BE MORE EXCITED! Like the excitement is real. So real. Either way, I really hope you enjoy this chapter, because I feel like it's when Zuko fully understands that he could possibly start something more with Katara. Okay. The squeeing mess of myself will step back now and let you read ^_^

 **Song Muse for this Chapter** : What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club

* * *

Katara stared at the dining hall doors, wearing her formal outfit and nervously playing with the piece of patterned fabric around her waist hanging around her waist. This wasn't her first time trying to speak with foreign ministers and representatives about peace, but she didn't feel prepared as much as she had been in the past. Thankfully, to put her mind at ease, this was only the dinner before everything. The more formal discussions will be talked about in the coming days, and there was no telling how long the negotiations would last. They could be there for weeks, even a couple months, and it could feel like barely anything had gotten accomplished. Despite the thoughts running through her mind, Katara had a lot of faith in her people. Though they were on the other side of the world, somewhere where she did not grow up, it was still her nation. She had hope that there was going to be successful negotiating these coming days, that they would at least give Zuko an opening to try and fix things between their two nations.

Katara waited outside until she saw the familiar face wearing the same red robe he had been wearing the entire trip. Katara had chosen to dress fairly differently, a bulky, fur-lined ball gown hugging petite frame. She smiled when Zuko walked up, moving to walk in step next to him.

"Excuse me, miss," said one of his companions. "I'm afraid you'll have to-"

"Oh c'mon, Soran," Zuko countered. "You don't recognize Katara by now?"

Katara grinned and waved at the man, then immediately turning her attention towards the Royal Hall's doors. She kept walking, not really listening but looking inside the building. Not much had changed since the last time she was in here, except for the fact that she was standing next to the new Firelord as he was walking in there to try and make peace with nations. It brought a few tears to her eyes, not necessarily knowing how much it probably meant to everyone around the world until that very moment. She stumbled a little to the side when Zuko nudged her. At that, she looked at him and knit her eyebrows together, confused.

"You okay? Don't go crying on me," he told her, a smirk forming on his face.

She tilted her head a little and then shoved him back, smiling.

"Never," she said, smiling then. "This is just so important to have happen, that's all. Makes me a little emotional."

"I agree," he replied. He looked like he wanted to say something else for a moment but then he looked forward. Katara didn't mind, especially since the moment was pretty much over.

The Royal Hall was decorated beautifully, just like Katara remembered it. Except this time, there was no beautiful Princess Yue, and she couldn't help but try to look for Sokka, to see if he needed to be comforted. She couldn't see him at first and she placed a hand on Zuko's arm.

"Save me a seat next to you," she told him. "I should find Sokka. He hasn't been here since... Yue, y'know…"

With a nod of confirmation from Zuko, she went to find her older brother, but when she did, he was laughing with a few people from the North. One of them, surprisingly, was the man who had been set to marry Yue. He looked like he was with his current wife, a pretty young woman with short hair, and light, grey-blue eyes. She smiled and then decided to back off, knowing that her brother was probably fine on his own. When he looked her way, she waved and gave him a smile, which he distractedly returned.

It seemed like everyone was finally happy. So why wasn't she feeling the same? Though Zuko seemed just as content as she was. And that's what it was, being content and not really, truly being _happy_. This wasn't what she was expecting after the war was over, that was for sure. Either way, she had to expect that she would find her true happiness eventually. Right now, she wasn't unhappy, but everything she was doing was more out of obligation.

In fact, she seemed happiest when she was around the Firelord. Maybe she needed to find him again, and she looked for the familiar head of hair, the familiar face, the familiar garb that he wore signifying the fact that he was the Firelord. The sea of blue and grey and brown was finally broken by a brilliant red and gold frock, so she moved in that direction. Zuko was already sitting and chatting with his companion. He looked up and his eyes settled on her and he smiled softly before going back to conversing with his friend. She moved over by him and felt an all-too-familiar feeling in her chest and stomach, like someone was stepping on her ribcage and that someone was shaking her stomach. It was unsettling as she sat next to the Firelord. Was she developing a feeling towards Zuko that suggested she wanted to be more than friends? She bit her lip and shoved the thought out of her mind as she sat on the ground next to him.

"Are you not cold in that?" she asked, laughing softly. "It seems pretty thin for a place made completely of ice and snow."

She lifted an eyebrow in question and he lifted his good eyebrow right back, a smirk showing up on his face.

"No," he said. "I'm naturally warm. This feels unsettling, but not completely out of the blue."

"Ah," she replied, smiling softly. "Good to know."

"So what should I expect from something like this?"

"Well," Katara began. "I'm not entirely sure. But I just hope they're fair."

With a few more words exchanged between the two of them, the food was brought out and set in front of them. Katara saw a quite a bit of delicacies that she's only had a handful of times and a few classics that she was sure Zuko had to try.

"None of this looks familiar," Zuko chuckled, trying to reach for something.

"No! That's sour!" she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose and batting his chopsticks away. "What flavors do you like?"

"Sour," he joked. "No, no. Spicy, salty, sweet. The usual."

"Okay," she answered, looking around at the spread. "Try this, and this, and this."

That would be a meal in itself. She watched him intently as he bit into each thing, and when he was finished, he pointed to each thing and gave a small review.

"These were okay, but this was amazing," he said, pointing to the seaweed noodles that Katara was so fond of.

"A classic Water Tribe dish," she informed. "It's one of my personal favorites."

"I think it's one of mine now, too," he said, giving himself another mouthful before looking up. After he finished his bite, he pointed at the men walking out in curiosity.

"Waterbending students," Katara confirmed. "Seems like a continuing tradition, even though Master Pakku is teaching in the South now."

Katara watched the students now, wide eyed, thinking about how much she had struggled with waterbending at first. It was here that she succeeded and got much better at it. She probably wouldn't have been able to help Zuko defeat Azula if she hadn't gained the strength and knowledge she had gotten with Pakku, who was now her beloved grandfather-in-law.

At once, the three students started an impressive display of their skills. They slowly won Katara over. Albeit a bit shaky at first, they improved great lengths by the end of the performance. She smiled softly and leaned forward, completely enthralled by the performance. All too soon, it was over and the Northern Water Tribe Chief was standing, silencing the applause.

"Hello everyone, and welcome to the dinner honoring the start of negotiations with our former enemy, the Fire Nation."

There was a smattering of applause, and Katara frowned.

"We welcome those who come from the Water Tribe down South, and those who have accompanied the new Firelord."

Silence.

Katara looked around and frowned deeper. Why weren't they smiling at least? Or trying to fake it?

"Though he may prove to be another traitor, we must invite negotiations and compromises into our midst. He is new, so we will give you a chance, Firelord Zuko."

Now the Chief's eyes were settling on the honored guest, and so did Katara's.

"But that's a preview of what you could potentially face if you declare war on us again."

* * *

Sitting next to Katara made this all slightly more bearable. Zuko had been nervous that he wouldn't be received well, that he wouldn't succeed in something that he wanted to succeed in. But what was success without small failures in between? Unfair, that's what it was. He needed to be fair, because his father had not been.

As soon as the Chief stood, his eyes went to him, a small smile on his face. That smile faded as the Chief talked, knowing that he was doing this out of image, what the people wanted. He kept a calm face on, trying not to yell at the Chief, but when the Chief finished speaking, Katara surprised him by standing.

"Chief Arnook, may I say something?" Katara inquired.

He made a gesture to let her go ahead, and she turned to everyone else in the room.

"I understand why you all have doubts about Prin- Firelord Zuko," she said, stumbling over her words just slightly. Either way, she continued.

"Believe me, I had trouble trusting him as well, when he first came to us," she said. "It was tough knowing that he helped almost destroy Aang in the Ba Sing Se caverns when, just moments before, I had offered to help him with his scar by using the Spirit Water. It was tough when I saw him appear and ask to join our group to help defeat his father. It was tough _having_ him in the group and not being able to do anything about it except try to defend Aang if anything did happen. But eventually he won me over. Most of you know that my mother died when I was very young because of the Southern Raiders. With his knowledge and resources - even though he was a damn traitor in the Fire Nation - he found and tracked down the man who personally killed her. I didn't understand mercy until then, until he supported me no matter what I chose. Personally, I think that was a very honorable act to commit, and I believe that he has more honor and kindness in his pinky finger than his father or his sister combined."

At her words, Zuko became mesmerized. He had no idea how highly she thought of him, and he swallowed, looking around the room for a moment before settling his gaze back on the beautiful girl that stood in front of him, her beauty only enhanced by her passion and the fire he saw behind her eyes.

"If it weren't for him taking a hit from a bolt of lightning in the Agni Kai for me, if he hadn't run _in front of_ the bolt that Azula sent towards me, I quite possibly wouldn't be standing here today. If he hadn't weakened her, pushed her past her breaking point, I quite possibly wouldn't have been able to defeat her. In other words, he's more like us than he had ever been like his father or sister. Please, all of you, give him a chance to really negotiate peace. He will try his hardest to make it benefit all nations, and once he has put things into place, he will uphold his promises. He will be an honorable man throughout all of this, and he will not give up easily to restore peace and balance in the world, much like the Avatar is working to do as we speak."

With that, Katara sat down, and the Royal Hall slowly exploded with applause. Katara didn't smile. She went back to eating her seaweed noodles. She said what she had to say and she wasn't going to add frills to it.

"Thank you," Zuko said, leaning over to whisper in her ear so no one else could hear.

Once Katara was finished with her bite, she pulled him closer by tugging on his sleeve, tugging him down so he could hear the words she whispered back.

"You owe me, Flameo Hotpants," she said, letting go of him and smiling, a noticeable blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Hotpants?" he asked, his eyes narrowing a little and a boyish grin spreading across his face.

"Hotpants," she repeated, smiling as well and tucking a piece of hair behind her head.

Slowly, he was getting more and more confident that she would be a good partner to have in the midst of all of the political negotiations and plans that would be happening. She had proven herself to him by now, that she would be a good partner in everything. That was what was making it so hard, hiding his true feelings from her.


	9. Chapter 8 - Lifelines

**A/N** : AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! That's all I have to say. I cannot believe I've gotten this far and it's happening and sjkahfdoghalshguaosihgalsj THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS WILL BE SWELL, YA'LL. THAT'S ALL I GOTTA SAY!

 **Song Muse for this chapter** : The Ocean by Mike Perry ft. Shy Martin

* * *

Katara sat in silence for the rest of the meal, eating her seaweed noodles, not exactly knowing what to say to Zuko. It wasn't her place to say such things, wasn't it? Did she offend him? Quite possibly, since she didn't really know him all that well and she hadn't spent much time with him. Both of them had gotten so caught up in their own two worlds that they hadn't really had time just the two of them at all. She bit her lip, and all of the sudden, the dessert was announced. Slowly, she reached for a fried bun, her lips pursing a little bit as she took it with her chopsticks, dipping it into some sweet berry sauce, and then brought it to her lips. The flavors melted onto her tongue and she licked her lips to get the berry sauce off of her bottom lip.

She managed to get most of it while Zuko talked to his other neighbor, but he had to look at her right at that second. He smiled softly and shook his head, letting his hand leave his long sleeve and reaching to wipe the berry sauce from her lower lip. At that gesture, Katara leaned away from him and gave him a look.

"What are you doing?" she asked incredulously.

"You have sauce on your lip," he replied, wiping it away despite her protest and then wiped it on her napkin. "I didn't know you were such a messy eater, Katara."

"I'm not," she said, straightening. "That's Sokka. I mean, look at him."

They both took a peek at her brother, who's cheeks were protruding from the food he was shoving into his mouth, his chin sporting a sheen of oil. As they looked, they could barely contain their laughter, and Katara didn't remember what she was so worried about. Besides, he seemed to be in conversation with his friend, so it wasn't going to be noticed by him, really.

"Katara," announced someone behind her. When she looked, there stood Chief Arnook. "May I speak to you please?"

Slowly, Katara stood, smiling sheepishly. This was what she was afraid of, having ruined Zuko's chances at negotiations just because she had an outburst like that. Albeit an eloquent outburst, it was still in defiance towards the Chief. Though she did a lot more to save the world than he did, she couldn't let that get to her head. They all had made sacrifices.

She followed him into a side room, swallowing and straightening her slouched figure, prepared for whatever he had to say to her. No matter what he had to speak to her about, she was ready.

"Thank you for giving me more insight into our newest ally," he began.

Katara's eyebrows lifted in surprise, and she nodded slowly.

"Information is good in those situations, I hear," she replied, smiling. "Zuko really has changed, and he is nowhere near his father or sister. He is truly interested in peace throughout the world, and it wasn't apparent if you knew that or not."

"Katara," he interrupted. "You seem very passionate about this issue, don't you?"

Katara's lips parted and she tilted her head, looking away from his face. Her gloved hands clasped together, and she shrugged.

"I suppose," she said. "But he's a friend. I'm passionate about all of my friends' wellbeings."

Chief Arnook hesitated before nodding and then moved back towards the doorway. She watched him walk past her and smiled when he reached out to pat her shoulder somewhat affectionately.

"Do you look at the moon often, Chief?" she asked, remembering how his daughter sacrificed herself to become the new Moon Spirit. When she thought about it, the Chief did look slightly older than she last saw him. Perhaps it was taking a bigger toll on him than she expected.

"I do," he replied. "My daughter has achieved great things, though I don't know exactly what."

Katara nodded in reply and then watched him as he walked out. She took a deep breath and stood in the room for a moment, closing her eyes and feeling incredibly relieved that she hadn't just made a big mistake.

* * *

Zuko left the dinner before Katara could return. His advisors told him it would be wise to leave before she got back, especially if she got him in trouble. If that was the case, then Zuko worried far more than he thought he should for someone who so obviously just wanted to be his friend. Though, he kept going back and forth on that notion. Some things she did would suggest otherwise, how she straightened the emblem several times when she saw him, how she seemed to blush when she complimented him. He had never seen her act that way, especially since she was the one who had defeated Azula, and it was starting to put him on edge. The only other person whom he had seen act like this around anyone was Aang towards Katara - even Mai was never this affectionate towards him usually - and he couldn't help but wonder.

After he left the building, he told his companions that he was going to take a walk, starting in the opposite direction of where his quarters were. He needed to clear his head, and he started to question how exactly he would do it. One answer always seemed prominent: solidify his standing with Katara. But could he really do that? Would he be enough? If he really meant it - telling Katara his budding feelings for her - would he be rejected? He did have to prepare for that outcome, for all outcomes, really. He just hoped that wouldn't be what happened, that he had some chance.

He walked for awhile, his hands in fists to try and combat the cold. He wasn't accustomed to this type of environment, seeing his breath with every puff of air he took. Looking for a moment around him, seeing he wasn't near any houses, he let himself produce a small flame to warm up his face at least, only letting his flame burn for a mere five seconds in order to manage his stealth. This was the first time he had been completely alone in months, except for sleeping. Even then, he's never really been alone, having guards surround him day and night to protect him. After being a vagabond and fugitive for so long, it was rough figuring out how to be a royal.

He looked out at the ocean from where he stood, on some sort of big balcony. It was a public place, with a grand staircase leading down to another part of the tribe's city, but the big open space was welcome, even if the breezes were chilling him to the bone. After gazing out at the ocean, his eyes glanced up to see the moon shining bright. A small smile spread across Zuko's face, trying to imagine exactly what the Northern Water Tribe princess was like. He only knew what others told him, and he almost felt ashamed. According to Sokka's description, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but that was also Sokka talking.

He wished so many things after the war ended: that Katara wouldn't turn him away; that he could've met people who he had a hand in killing; that he had realized his father's shortcomings and aggression sooner; that he had listened to his uncle; that he had helped Aang sooner; and that he hadn't been so resistant to any type of change that would come with the war ending. There was so much he wished he could have redone differently, but it was too late now. All he could do was learn from his mistakes.

He leaned forward on the balcony's half-wall, still staring up at the Moon Spirit. After having such perfect posture all day, he breathed a sigh of relief when he could feel some of the tightness release from his back, his shoulders relaxing. Though he wasn't fully relaxed, not by a long shot, being this relaxed was a blessing.

Taking a deep breath, he heard a crunch of snow behind him. He spun around, a menacing look showing up on his face, but he then realized it was the very girl whom he had been thinking about moments ago.

"Katara," he breathed, relief flooding over his body. She had seen him at his very worst and saw him survive through it. He could stand her seeing him a bit tired and worn out from these past months, getting the Fire Nation unified and supported again.

"You okay?" she asked him, looking at him with concern in her eyes. She started to walk over, and Zuko could not keep his eyes off of her.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling and letting out a short, abrupt laugh. "I was just looking at the Moon Spirit. Contemplating life. Trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do tomorrow."

Katara nodded, looking up at the very moon he just told her about. He leaned on the balcony again, his eyes staying on Katara for a moment longer before staring up at the moon again as well.

"Well," she began. "Whatever happens, you'll get through it. You've been through much worse, haven't you?"

He nodded slowly, thinking back to when he protected her from lightning. He thought he could redirect it, but it hit him with such force that there hadn't been time.

"Yeah, that's for sure," he said. "I just hope I don't lose my temper. That's happened a few times already."

He was sheepish about that admission, but Katara only laughed.

"I figured as much," she said.

"Don't laugh," he complained. "This is matters of seriousness."

After a few moments, Katara's laughter died down and she nodded, coughing a little bit into her hand.

"Sorry," Katara muttered.

"Good. You should be," Zuko replied.

Katara looked up at him and sighed, looking at his hands, which were clenched together. Silently, she hesitated before placing one of her hands over his', looking at his face afterwards. A look of slight shock crossed over Zuko's expression and he swallowed.

"I'm here for you," Katara clarified. "We all are. Sokka, Aang, my dad. We know you. We know what you did for us, for the world. We're all on your side, and we'll all be there tomorrow."

Zuko looked at her, her glittering blue eyes full of passion and conviction that he almost kissed her right then and there, but he wasn't going to, especially when he didn't know how she felt about him, if she even felt anything romantic towards him.

She gave him a small smile, and before she could pull away, he turned one of his hands over and took her hand in his. He looked down, at their connected hands, his paler skin glowing against her's. A small grin lept onto his face as he looked up at her again, a full grin showing when he felt how cold her hands were.

"Your hands are cold," he said, shaking his head a little.

This had to mean something, didn't it? That she so willingly placed one of her hands on his', that she said such kind things to him, that she didn't pull away when he held her hand so intimately. This was by far the most intimate moment they had shared, and Zuko couldn't help feeling like he almost didn't deserve it. But she still didn't pull away. He was so grateful for that.

* * *

Katara had gone to find Zuko after it seemed like he left. His companions were still standing near the entrance and all they had known was that he went left, away from the Royal Hall. She walked the trail until she found him, smiling when she did.

A conversation followed, and she impulsively grabbed his clasped hands without really thinking it through. It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to, especially since her heart had different ideas from what her head wanted. She took a deep breath and reassured him, watching his face carefully, then his hand when he took her hand into his.

After that moment, she wanted to pull away, but it was like she was magnetically attached to him at that moment. She couldn't pull away, even if she wanted to, his warm touch making her cold hand feel much better. She kept her gaze on their adjoined hands, then looking up at Zuko, blinking and then looking away to look at the ocean. She drew her hand away, biting her lower lip for a split second and then looking at him again.

"Sorry," she whispered. "I wasn't thinking. I shouldn't-"

She was cut off by him taking her hand again.

"Your hand is cold," he said. "I'm merely warming it up, right?"

He smirked down at her, and she looked up at him through her lashes, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

This could potentially be catastrophic, if the war had still been going on, but it wasn't. The world was at peace. Could there possibly be a unity between a Water Tribe member and a Firelord now? Was that allowed? She didn't see why it wouldn't be allowed, but she had to think about if this was a good idea.

Zuko seemed to think so, since a few minutes passed by and he laced their fingers together, his thumb stroking her hand gently. She looked at him for another moment, his gaze down at their joined hands and then he looked up at her.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Holding hands," he answered, smiling. "Nothing more, nothing less. Two friends supporting each other."

"If anyone sees," Katara doubts. "Would they get the wrong idea?"

"Maybe," he pondered. "But... Would that be the worst thing at the moment?"

Katara thought it over. It might hinder his chances at the discussions, but it wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen to him. She decided to let it go, to let it happen. She willingly moved closer to him when he gave a slight tug, her arm now pressed against his side, his arm over her's, providing her with more warmth than she had planned on receiving that night.


	10. Chapter 9 - Confession

**A/N:** OKAY. So I suck. I lost muse for this story and it just came back to me. Since then, I've started getting a degree in German Linguistics and I just... whew that sucked a LOT of energy from me. I know that this is an inconsistent posting, but I do hope to keep going now and possibly get through all of the ideas I have. Thank you all for being so patient, and I've seen people still following even though I haven't posted since September last year. I can't make any promises, but while I'm focused on this and it's summer, I'm hoping to crank out a few more chapters! The romance is really starting this chapter, and since I love romance, I definitely think this will be relatively easy to do? I will definitely try to write more for this, now that my muse and motivation are back! Please forgive me, and enjoy!

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Blow Me Away by Recent Rumors

* * *

Holding hands with Zuko was easier than she expected. She didn't know if it was because of being friends first or if she was finding it easier to accept that she had feelings for him. At that thought, she realized that it was the first time she had fully accepted that she had feelings for the Firelord. She took a deep breath and then looked up at him, giving him a smile for a moment before looking out at the ocean, the stars reflecting their light on the rolling waves.

Her mind was now occupied with the fact that she was holding Zuko's hand and realizing how natural it felt, even though she felt like it wouldn't be this way. She didn't know how to react to that knowledge, but she knew she wanted to stand like this for as long as she possibly could.

"Let's walk," said her companion, causing her to look over and nod, her hand moving to leave his. This time he didn't protest, and she almost felt disappointed, especially since she knew now how nice it felt, his slightly warm palm resting in her cooler one.

As they started walking, her sleeves fell over her hands, as did Zuko's. They walked in silence for a few moments before Katara decided to speak up, deciding the silence was too much for her thoughts, especially since they were on a rampage now with the realization that she liked the Firelord as more than a friend.

"So," she said, trying to figure out what to say. "What else did you want to see in the North? Before you have to go home, I mean, because I'm sure you'll come back here at some point."

He looked at her as they walked, coming to a staircase that led the both of them back down into the less residential part of the city. She watched him expectantly, waiting for him to speak and surprising herself when there were no more steps to step onto, causing her to stumble a little and almost lose her balance. She was almost relieved it was dark so Zuko didn't see her blush, swallowing the lump that came up in her throat. At that moment, she realized he had been looking and now had a small smile on his face, causing her eyebrows to furrow together and her hand to go to her hip.

"There you go again with that pose," he said, smirking a little bit, moving to mock her a little bit again. "Is that your defiance stance or something? It's quite amusing."

She sighed and let her arm drop, her head tilting a little bit so her nose was more pointed to the sky, looking forward and refusing to look at him for a few moments. But she couldn't let the ruse go for very long before looking back over at him, giving him a smirk of her own.

"You still have to answer," she teased, lifting her eyebrows, relatively unhappy with the fact that she couldn't see his face and wasn't holding his hand anymore.

They stopped when they were by the docks and Zuko still hadn't talked, make Katara a bit curious as to why he hadn't said much yet. It wasn't a hard question, but she supposed it took some time to think, but that didn't seem to be the silence that was happening. She watched him for a moment before moving more towards the water, kicking snow into the water and watching it sink or dissolve into the slightly warmer water, tilting her head as she waited for Zuko to speak.

This was relatively uncharacteristic for them, speaking on more recent terms. Usually they almost couldn't stop talking, only when things got awkward. She turned back around and her eyebrows furrowed while she walked back over to Zuko, her arms crossing carefully.

"Why aren't you talking?" she asked, swallowing nervously. "I didn't think this question would be as hard to answer as it apparently is for you."

She watched Zuko's face as well as she could in the dim light, knowing something was off immediately. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't normal either, or at least part of their new normal that had been forming at the dinner a few hours before.

She watched him warily, feeling a heaviness of a huge shift in their friendship. She couldn't tell if he was going to say something bad or not, but she knew that this had to be something serious.

"Zuko," she said, her tone of voice changing. It was almost a plea, wanting his silence to end. She bit her lip as she looked up at him, not expecting the words that left his lips next.

* * *

While he knew that Katara had asked a question, he couldn't bring himself to answer it all of the sudden. Though he wanted to see more of the Northern Water Tribe, he wanted to see more of it with Katara specifically. His heart was beating frantically as he mulled over how he was going to tell her, knowing that his liking her was going to tie in with his answer to her question, about what he wanted to see in the Water Tribe. He didn't know how to start the conversation, so he walked in silence, probably leaving her curious and confused, which he would regret, but he had to formulate a way to say what he needed to say that wouldn't scare her off.

"Katara," he said a few moments after she said his name. She looked a bit taken aback, her eyes rolling and posture visibly relaxing.

"You scared me," she said, laughing a little bit, but he didn't give her much more time to react before taking her hand, intertwining their fingers once again and stepping closer slowly, shutting her up pretty effectively.

"I…" he said, looking down at her and swallowing carefully, almost afraid to speak for fear of choking and avoiding what he wanted to so badly tell her. "I haven't answered because there's a part of my answer that I need to explain first."

She nodded slowly, a soft smile on her face.

"I hope part of that is an explanation why you feel so inclined to hold my hand tonight," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. He realized that they were both talking in hushed tones, as if this interaction was either incredibly private or incredibly forbidden. He hoped it was the former one, not realizing there could be customs that they both had to dodge until that moment, but he didn't care about anything else anymore. If they could become friends after being borderline mortal enemies, then they could do anything. He was confident in that.

"Well," he said, staring down at her, her eyes still a piercing ice blue, even in the dark. Just her looking at him made him feel so many things - nervousness, tranquility, excitement, the promise of lessons. He wanted all of those emotions on a deeper level if it was possible, knowing he would still get them on a certain plane if they remained friends after this conversation, but he had hopes that it would turn out differently.

"Well," he started again. "I have been grappling with some things. Feelings. Feelings and things. And I guess I have feelings for you… And that's somewhat difficult for me to face, partially because I don't see you often but also because of...the reaction you gave Aang. If you couldn't have feelings for him, why would you have them for me? And so-"

"Stop."

With that, Zuko paused his words, sweat forming on his back and forehead. Did he say something wrong? This wasn't the same situation as confronting his father before joining Aang and the rest of his friends on the quest to figure out how to defeat Firelord Ozai, but he wasn't certain in this moment either. Telling people that you were going to defeat them, one way or another, was one thing; telling someone you were harboring feelings, that was another. He stood there and watched her, waiting for her to react more. She was looking down at the moment, and she seemed to take minutes before answering.

"What does that have to do with your answer to my question?" she asked carefully, her hand loosening in his. Did she not trust him as much as he trusted her? He softened a little bit, some of the nervous energy leaving his body.

"I don't just want to see it," he said. "I want to see it with you. As much as I can, before I have to leave, and in the future, if possible."

Katara watched him as he spoke, a small smile forming on her face. That was a good sign, especially since - as far as her could tell - it didn't seem to be a sympathetic smile.

"This confession," she said simply, biting her lip before she continued. "It seems to have come at a very pivotal time in both of our histories."

Zuko nodded in agreement, taking her other hand in his, staring at their joined hands as the coolness of her palms pulled him back to Earth while she spoke. He didn't know how to feel now that his feelings were out in the open, knowing she could reject him, too. But that's not what actually happened.

"Even though that's the case… I can't help but feel the same way, Zuko."

He looked up at her, shock lining his face, happiness flowing through his veins.

"Seriously?" he said, a little boy's excitement settling on his face at the moment. It was all he could do not to pick her up and spin her around, but he drew his excitement back in. Though he was still a teenager, only 17, he wasn't going to act like a kid with this. He nodded a few times, his breathing heavier now.

Katara had been laughing as he processed through his feelings, and he couldn't tell if she felt the same relief and excitement that he did, but knowing that she felt the same way was enough for him. Knowing that he had a chance was more than he could ask for.

After a bit more silence, Katara spoke up, looking around.

"We should probably get back," she breathed, looking up at him. He nodded, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear and smiling down at her. The excitement had died down a little bit more. It wasn't threatening to boil over, but he was mostly excited about what the future held for them and how things were starting to look. Even if they couldn't be around each other all the time, since they had other obligations, his feelings were genuine, and he was happy that her's were, as well.

They moved away from the docks, moving back towards the residential area where his quarters were, since his were a little closer to them than her's were.

"Should I walk you to your room or not?" he asked her as they came to his sleeping quarters, still holding one another's hand.

To his slight disappointment, she shook her head and gave him a soft smile.

"I will be fine," she murmured, hesitating before leaning up to press a kiss to his cheek. "I need to process this on my own, I think."

She looked up at him and he nodded, giving her a smile and letting her hand go.

"Goodnight, Katara," he said to her as she walked away.

"Goodnight, Flameo Hotpants," she said, winking at him, making him laugh a little bit as she turned around and walked away. After that, he turned and ducked into his quarters, a sense of relief and delight washing over him.


	11. Chapter 10 - Tensions

**A/N:** Hello again! Yet another chapter :) I'm just happy my motivation and muse for this story is back - I am definitely relieved about that! I had looked forward to finishing this, and I'm hoping I'll be able to this year. I don't know if I'll do a sequel or not, but I don't need to plan that far ahead, after all. It's going to be a long story, either way, with what I have planned. Anyways, the romance is _really_ coming soon, I promise! I'm just trying to have it be a bit of a slow burn type of thing, as a part of an exercise I want to commit to. I'm usually terrible with that kind of stuff, and I'm super proud of myself for it taking this long! Anyways, I really hope that you're all enjoying the story so far, and I would really appreciate to hear more reviews from you guys!

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Ordinary Love by U2

* * *

Katara laid in bed far longer than she expected to the next morning. Every time she thought of the night before, her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest, knowing that the words Zuko spoke to her the night before were actually real, even though it felt like she had dreamt them. She took a deep breath, finally sitting up and shivering as the cold hit her bare arms, having been too warm sleeping in her heavy coat. She curled into herself, looking around and finding her coat in the dim room, putting on her thickly fur-lined boots and standing up. She sighed happily, drawing another thick coat around her and then stepping outside, her hair out of her signature braid.

When she did step out into the snowy landscape, Tonna came out of nowhere, snapping her out of her Zuko-induced reverie. As she stared at Tonna, whose face was contorted into a look of wanting to laugh and tease her, but thankfully her friend held back and remained civil.

"Good morning," Katara said coolly, straightening a little bit as her embarrassment washed away, her mind wandering back to her memories from the night before. Zuko's confession, her admittance of feelings towards him, the silent walk back to their respective rooms. It was difficult for her to think that all of that had happened just last night when it simultaneously seemed like a moment ago and a hundred years ago.

"Good morning yourself," said Tonna, lifting an eyebrow at Katara. Katara was surprisingly wary around the younger girl all of the sudden, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" Katara ventured, knowing that she might regret the decision to actually let Tonna speak.

"You're acting very strange," Tonna answered, narrowing her eyes a little bit but then walking ahead, causing Katara to sigh in exasperation.

"You're one to talk," Katara teased, catching up with the other girl. "I saw you with Aang last night. That didn't just seem like 'friendly banter' to me."

Tonna refused to look at her at that point, causing Katara to laugh and shake her head. While Katara hated to admit it, the fact that Aang was younger than her put a lot of weight on her when he had admitted his feelings to her. It made her feel strange, even though he was, technically speaking, older than her, he still seemed like a kid to her, no matter how much he grew after defeating the Firelord, and she feared that she would never see him as anything more than a little brother. She wasn't sure if Tonna knew about Aang's old feelings for Katara, but she wasn't going to tell her friend to risk anything. She knew she didn't love him in that way, but she didn't know how Tonna was with that.

"I, uh," Tonna started, stammering a bit as Katara smiled a little bit.

"It's okay," she said to her friend. "He's a good guy. I'd say go for it, if you do like him and he likes you back."

Boy talk was abnormal, even here, in a different place. She spoke some with Yue when she was alive during the war, but throughout the war, the women and children in the village were just praying that their husbands and fathers would come home. Besides, her focus was mainly on finishing the war, at least. With little bumps in the road, like Jet and her encounters with Aang, she hadn't really thought about actually settling down a little and really embracing her role as a foreign diplomat now.

With those words, Tonna nodded slowly.

"Even though seeing each other might not be a sure thing?" Tonna asked, narrowing her eyes a little and pursing her lips.

Despite her friend's worries, Katara nodded, smiling.

"Do what feels right to you, Tonna," she said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "And I'm surprised you admitted to liking Aang! I didn't expect that from you so soon."

Tonna scoffed playfully and shoved Katara in the shoulder, causing her to laugh and shake her head. From then on, they walked in silence until they got to the dining hall, walking inside to get some breakfast.

Everything seemed to be a somewhat big event. Meals were turned into parties, training turning into shows of young talent. The whole community seemed to building its walls and bridges once again, something that had been destroyed in the war while everyone was focusing on preserving and surviving. Now, Katara had noticed new buildings being built, more smiles, and happier moods overall whenever she was at one of the meals. It made her happy that she had a part with that, knowing that she stopped Azula from gaining more power, all with Zuko's help.

With that, her mind was back on the firebender and she sighed, looking around, not seeing him immediately before spotting a scarred face with relatively modest Firelord garb on instead of the fancier robes he wore to dinner the night before. She stared at him until he found her gaze, a small smile spreading across her cheeks, followed by a light blush that she tried to cover with her gloved hand.

"What was that?" asked Tonna, who approached her once more, a bowl of seaweed noodles in her hands.

"What?" Katara said. "I think I got a heat flash or something. My face got so warm-"

"From looking at the Firelord," Tonna said, lifting her eyebrows a little bit, smirking at Katara. That look caused the blush to grow even more red, and Katara turned away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Katara exclaimed, a little overzealously to be taken seriously. In response to that comment, Tonna just shook her head and walked away. Was she that easy to read?

Either way, she knew she wouldn't be able to hide her feelings for Zuko from the rest of the world for very long, and that quite possibly scared her the most.

* * *

As Zuko got ready that morning, putting up half of his hair into the signature Firelord bun, he still couldn't believe he had admitted his feelings to Katara the night before. He didn't even really know himself quite yet, now that he was peaceful and not tortured by the honor search, a search for something he had never actually lost. Maybe revealing his feelings would bring up bad habits, but he didn't care at all. He pushed through his nervousness and told her. He tried to tell himself that was all that mattered.

At breakfast, Zuko elected to sit somewhere other than beside Katara, who looked relatively busy with her Water Tribe friend and Sokka. He was silent while he ate, his eyes resting on Katara every so often. He didn't even really pay attention to what he was eating, his mind distracted by the girl who didn't seem to leave his mind at all.

Before long, breakfast was over, and Zuko started to realize how distracted he actually was. The political negotiations were going to be difficult to get through if he couldn't focus on something other than Katara, but he didn't know how to break it. Maybe he just needed to force himself to not think about her, to think about his country instead.

As he walked towards what could be considered a city hall for the tribe, in terms that he could explain, he could feel people staring at him. He did stand out in his brightly colored red robes, a stark difference to the icy landscape he stood on. It wasn't surprising to him that there were people staring at him. He was sure they were still wary of the Fire Nation colors, even though it had been six months since the war effectively ended. It would take time for him to repair alliances and relationships with the other nations, but him being here hopefully showed his determination for that happening.

He carefully walked up the steps and found the entrance, opening the door, met by more stares and silence. Thankfully, he quickly spotted his friends and walked over to them, giving them a smile.

"Hey," he said to them, being met by smiles of their own.

A low murmur started within their group, before the doors opened to the Meeting Hall. This was a lot more organized than he expected, but perhaps they had prepared for this in a more civil manner than when they were in the midst of chaos because of the war. His defenses were still up, because he knew it would probably go south at some point, but he also knew that they were mending their own wounds. He would respect that, even if they couldn't respect him at the moment; perhaps it was out of character for him, but he knew that violence was never the answer. He knew this needed to be negotiated through words at first. The actions could come later.

The meeting started promptly when the sun was in the highest point in the sky, with Zuko and his foreign diplomats on one side of the ornate room, and the Water Tribe members on the other. Before talking began, he looked at the high ceilings, noticing the intricate carvings coming down the walls. He was appreciative of the fact that he could somewhat peacefully study the room, even though he was carefully being watched. However, all eyes were eventually on someone else, the woman he had just managed to push out of his mind.

Naively, he hadn't expected her to be there. It made sense that Katara was, in fact, going to be at the meeting, but he just hoped it wouldn't be as distracting as he thought it would be. His eyes didn't leave her, and he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to tear his eyes away from her while the meeting occurred. Someone to his left cleared their throat, and he saw Soran sitting there, giving him a bit of a look. A blush rose on the Firelord's cheeks, and he elected to ignore the look that his companion gave him. Now was not the time to dwell on his feelings for Katara, someone who he needed to allow to process and approach him first, since he seemed to be further along than she was. He didn't know how he got that notion, but maybe it happened in the silence while they walked back to their rooms the night before.

Either way, he looked around the room more and sought out the chief of the Northern Water Tribe, trying to figure out all of the Water Tribe diplomats that were there. Once he was pretty sure he knew who was who, he nodded and stood, smiling.

"If we could begin, Chief Arnook, I would be most obliged," Zuko said civilly, a polite smile still on his face as he grasped his hands together, hiding his arms within his long, billowing sleeves.

The chief gestured for him to sit down and Zuko happily sat down once again, nodding respectfully to the chief before settling into the discussion.

As the discussion progressed, there were heated moments, but the Water Tribes proved to be searching for peace as much as the Fire Nation was. While there were moments of more heat, it was definitely going well. Until Zuko started to notice something off, though not with one of the Water Tribe members.

One of his own diplomats was getting oddly heated over how much the Fire Nation had sacrificed in the war. Zuko let him speak and watched carefully, the diplomat, Azoh, starting to go off on a tangent that was not necessary in the conversations at hand. He stared him down, eventually interfering when it was getting to an offensive point.

"Azoh," he said sharply. "If you are not going to be civil about this, then I do not think that this is the right place for you at the moment. We are in the Land of Ice, please find a place to cool down."

The look that Azoh gave Zuko made him feel vulnerable, but he didn't stray and stood his ground until the diplomat left, taking his anger with him. That whole altercation, however, did take a lot from him, and he put a hand to his forehead.

"Perhaps we have all gotten a bit stir-crazy," said the chief, playing off Zuko's actions. "We have made headway, here, Firelord. We can continue these negotiations in a few days."

With that, the room dispersed, and Zuko was left sitting in an empty room, staring at everything. He looked to the right and saw Aang and Katara standing there, giving them both a smile.

"How'd I do?" he asked, chuckling a little bit and leaning back, resting to be able to get out of the mindset he had been in for what seemed like hours.

"You did great," said Aang, a look of surprise on his face as he spoke. "Do you think you did bad or something? Because you've done a lot more towards peace since the war than I have."

Zuko looked at the Avatar, a bit confused.

"Never mind," said Aang, waving it off. Apparently, it had been a bit of a joke. "You did well. It's going to be an exhausting process, but whenever these types of things happen - meetings with either the Earth Kingdom or the Water Tribes - please let me know. I'd like to be involved in some way."

Zuko nodded and that satisfied Aang. It wasn't like Zuko thought of anything else - if he could, he was going to have as many friends with him as possible. He valued all of their opinions and would be more than happy to have them in the room with him for these negotiations. He had an inkling of what the other nations had gone through, but he didn't understand nearly as much as the others did. They spent a long time traveling, actually helping people with problems in each place. Zuko had been selfish and tasked to find and capture the Avatar - he hadn't really gotten to know the problems in each place. It wasn't fair of him to try and approach this by himself. That's why he was thankful they were all there that day, especially since he was already so exhausted from trying to sort his own nation out.

He almost forgot Katara was there until she sat next to him and placed a hand on his arm. She gave him a smile and sighed, looking around the room.

"Kinda hard to relax when history is being made, isn't it?" she asked, smirking up at him. Zuko laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, it is," he replied, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Want to find somewhere to hide for a little bit? Get some fresh air? Clear our heads?" she asked, pressing her lips together.

Zuko looked at her then for a moment, lips parted. After a few moments of looking at her like a lovestruck fool, he nodded and smiled, standing first before allowing her to stand, taking her hand in his.

"Should we find a back way? Or do you not care if they see?" he asked her, eyebrows lifting.

"Let's find a back way. We both know there would be commotion if people realized something had shifted between us…"

Zuko laughed and nodded, stepping aside and allowing her to lead.

"Lead the way," he said, smiling as she walked ahead of him, finding it exhilarating to have this secret between them, even though he wanted so badly to tell his friends. They could keep a secret for a little while longer, though.


	12. Chapter 11 - Secrets

**A/N:** Hey! So this is a bit of a short chapter, and I hit another roadblock. I'm just happy I could finish this one. What I had planned didn't feel quite right so I rearranged things a bit in my outline, so everything should be okay now! Anyways, I wrote this to get up now, and I swear longer chapters will be coming soon. Thanks so much for the patience you guys - I'm still incredibly dedicated to finishing this story!

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Secrets by OneRepublic

* * *

The political discussions had gone far better than Katara could have predicted. While the conversations did get a bit heated on both sides, the fact that the Avatar and more neutral parties - including her father, Sokka, Zuko and herself - were there probably helped both sides see the situations more clearly than they would have on their own. She had lived a life with little boundaries, with Fire Nation citizens and with the current Firelord himself. She had forgiven and forgotten things of the past, and she knew that the Fire Nation people were about as passionate about their heritage as she was, although perhaps a little guilty now that the war was over. She knew all of these facts, and it was encouraging to see both sides so desperate for peace, so willing to make amends. As she stood just outside the back of the building where the meeting was held, her hand in the Firelord's, she realized how thankful she really was that all of this was getting better and getting solved, even if it could be relatively temporary.

She felt herself tense up as her awareness of the warmth of the Firelord's hand increased, knowing that this man, merely over a year ago, had betrayed her and her friends in the Earth Kingdom caves of Ba Sing Se. Now, she trusted him, especially since he didn't seem as lost or confused about exactly what he wanted, but she was still curious about what he was thinking in those caves, while she touched his scar and nearly used her Spirit Water on him.

Once they were far enough away from the building, working their way around the corner that she was sure they were far enough away from the somewhat bustling outside. She was just happy that they slipped away without being followed, and as soon as they rounded the corner, she pulled him back gently, smiling up at him when he faced her.

"I have a question," she said slowly, keeping his hand in her's. "What were you thinking? In the Ba Sing Se caves?"

There was a pause and a look that crossed his face when she asked that, almost wanting her to take it back and say he should forget it. Curiosity still got the better of her, though, and she swallowed her anticipation down, trying to calm it slightly and just wait for him to answer.

After a few moments, he paused and smirked down at her, taking a step closer. She stumbled back a little bit, surprise settling on her face. It was then that she realized she had never been in a relationship before and how nervous this interaction alone made her, but she didn't want to be scared anymore. She wanted to be able to be close to him, to hold his hand in public, to be able to be affectionate towards him whether they were alone or not.

After she stumbled, he cleared his throat and took a step back, itching the back of his neck with his free hand and then letting go of her's while he spoke, pacing slightly. Perhaps that was how he thought best, and Katara just watched him carefully with her eyes, not sure what was on his mind.

"Honestly, I was about ready to give up," he said. "I never expected it to be that difficult to gain my honor back, to capture or kill the Avatar. I was about ready to surrender, to admit things I had never admitted to anyone."

With that, she paused and looked at him, giving him a soft smile. Katara couldn't help but notice how happy he seemed to be around her, and she couldn't help but notice how agitated and alert she felt around him. It was a different kind of on edge than she was used to, something she was not able to pinpoint at the moment. This whole situation was unsure and somewhat tense, knowing that they both didn't have footing for how to talk with one another yet, but she really hoped that would end soon. She didn't want it to be cautious for too long, but him being on edge or different was putting her more on edge than she expected. Though part of her naivety had died in that moment in the caves, she suspected that a part of him - she didn't know what - had died as well. A part of everyone had died on that fateful day, she now realized, and it wasn't necessarily a bad thing in most cases.

"I hope you know that you killed my naivety, some of my innocence," she said, crossing her arms. A sudden wall was being put up by her, and she didn't try to stop it. She stared at the ground, only looking up when Zuko's warm hands rested on her cheeks.

"I know," he murmured softly, looking down at her with a sad look on his face. "That was obvious when I saw you again, months later, when I was part of the group."

Katara still looked up at him warily, wondering why this was making her so angry. She didn't want to feel this way, but confronting that feeling bubbling up inside of her was getting harder and harder to ignore. It seemed to be festering, growing more and more rancid every time she saw Zuko, and could they really be together if she had these demons?

"I don't think you know how much I hated you, how hard it was to forgive you," she said cautiously, tears pricking at her eyes from fear of revealing this to him. She hadn't really talked about it with anyone - Aang, Sokka, her father, Tonna - and now she was telling the one person she wanted to keep this from. "I don't know why I asked you this question now."

With that, she pushed him away and shook her head, walking further along the path, her guard up again.

"Katara, wait," Zuko said, grabbing her arm and turning her back towards him, taking both of her hands in his. "What's going through your mind right now?"

Katara hesitated again, staring up at the Firelord. What was on her mind? What had she not forgiven him for?

"You allowed Azula to let Aang die, Zuko," she confessed. It was what was on her mind. "What if Azula had come 5 minutes later? 15? What would you have done then? Would you have assisted her in capturing or killing Aang like you did in those caves still? Or would you have…"

She trailed off them, realizing this wasn't anger. It was fear, she was afraid of opening up to him because of what happened in the caves. No matter how many times she looked back and realized they were both different people, she was still stuck on that moment and holding his against his better judgement.

"Would I have what, Katara?" Zuko said carefully, still looking at her, his face emotionless.

After a brief paused, Katara couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Would you have killed me?"

* * *

At Katara's question, Zuko took a step back, hit with the severity of that question and with the thoughts of what he should answer. He was vengeful towards the wrong people at that point, so if she had used the Spirit Water on him, would he have killed her if it hadn't worked, or if it did work and Azula had still shown up later?

"Maybe," he revealed. "But only if my sister had shown up later. Possibly not even then, because you would've done something for me that no one else could have done, Katara."

With that, he tilted her head up for her to look at him, eyes shining.

"But that's not what happened," he said, his hand landing on her arm gently. "You revived Aang and he saved the world and restored balance. I think you sparked something inside of me that day, too, for me to take on my role that needed to be taken on in order for the war to be won. If Azula hadn't been defeated, I would not be Firelord and I would not be standing here today, with you, working towards peace for the Water Tribes and for the Fire Nation. I wouldn't be standing here and holding your hand. I wouldn't be doing many things if I had killed you or if the timeline had changed."

At the end of his speech, he smiled down at her and stroked her cheek again.

"Katara, you have no need to be wary of me any longer," he promised. He never wanted to see her this scared of him ever again and he really hoped that it wouldn't happen again.

"Okay," she whispered, taking a deep breath. "I just need a second to calm down."

Zuko nodded, letting go of her and tucking his hands into his sleeves, waiting the few minutes until she returned from wherever she walked off to, giving her a soft smile as she walked back.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from," she apologized, looking up at him sheepishly, a blush creeping up her neck that was terribly noticeable to Zuko. He laughed a little bit, shaking his head and pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay, I'm kind of glad we got that out of you before our first date," he joked, letting her pull away and look up at him, confused. He had a smirk on his face and he lifted his eyebrows and look right back down at her. "We can make this a date if you want."

Katara looked at him wordlessly and nodded after a few moments of her being surprised by his suggestion. He knew it was a bit surprising, especially after their previous conversation. That was why he was letting it simmer for a moment.

"Alright, Firelord," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Where should we go?"

Zuko waited for an answer as the Water Tribe girl thought, her eyes lighting up.

"I know just the place."


	13. Chapter 12 - Beginnings

**A/N:** I'm starting up school here in less than a month, and I'm taking 4 classes this semester and hoping for a tutoring job. I'm going to try and write as many chapters as I can before then, but I have no idea how many I'll manage to get up. I thought I would have more muse for this, especially since I just did an A:TLA and Legend of Korra re-watch, but this was definitely more difficult to write than I thought it would be... But I did it! I'm going to keep going - I just need to trudge through and I promise more and more romantic stuff is going to be coming up soon! I am glad so many people are enjoying this fanfiction. It's helping me keep going.

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Livewire by Oh Wonder

* * *

Katara admitted that it probably wasn't a great idea to bring Zuko here, but it was the only secluded place she could think of. She had been to the North twice before, and it was so quick that she hadn't been able to find good places other than the Spirit Oasis to be alone and in tranquility. However, before she reached the Spirit Oasis, she stopped walking, shaking her head.

"No," she said. "Maybe there's a place to...I don't know, eat? But the place I was going to take you is too sacred. I don't know why I thought bringing you to the Spirit Oasis would be a good idea."

She stared up at Zuko, who just nodded and seemed to agree with her sentiments. She remembered how she battled him after becoming a somewhat seasoned waterbender, when he was bruised and freshly burned and still had his hair up in a ponytail. Though his hair was growing longer, he looked more like that Zuko than he had before, than he had while he was training Aang in the art of firebending.

"I would like to go back there at some point," he informed her. "Make a stop and pay my respects to the moon and ocean spirits."

"Did you know Yue?" she asked, tilting her head, curiosity taking over.

"No, but Sokka told me about her a little while we were traveling to get your father from prison," he confessed. "I didn't know Admiral Zhao could do such a thing."

"Honestly, I thought you would do such a thing," she said. "You were unpredictable when it came to capturing the Avatar. I didn't know if you would do something that drastic or not."

Zuko nodded again, sadness showing on his face as he looked at Katara. She knew already that those years were a dark time for him, though she still didn't know the length his father went to keep him searching for his honor in whatever way he could. In fact, she knew fairly little about his relationship with the previous Firelord, the man who caused so much destruction. She didn't know how Zuko got over that part of him, how Zuko detached himself from the Fire Nation to help the Avatar and his friends defeat his own father from further destruction.

"How did you do it?" she asked. "I mean, change your mind, about capturing Aang? Your father didn't seem to give you much of a choice."

Zuko shook his head, looking away from her, taking a few steps along the path, far enough to let go of her hand.

"I don't want to talk about it," he told her. "At least not right now, while we're on our date."

Though her curiosity was peaked, she nodded in understanding, moving over to him to take his hand again and kiss his cheek. She wanted so much to comfort him, to make all of those thoughts that caused him torment to go away, but she knew that was easier said than done. She had a feeling that they would have many roadblocks to get through, especially when it came to Zuko's past. He may have made peace with most of it, but there was still pain hidden inside of there. It wouldn't be easy, but Katara wasn't looking for easy; she was looking for possible.

Maybe the Spirit Oasis would be the perfect place to go, though she wasn't entirely sure how they would get there, especially because it was technically on royal grounds. She had a good relationship with the Northern Chief, though, so maybe she could ask him.

"C'mon," she said, keeping her hand in his and tugging him along the path they were already on.

"Where are we going?" Zuko asked as he quickened his pace to walk alongside her. His expression was questioning and curious, but Katara just smiled coyly at him.

"Maybe it's a surprise," she teased, turning her head away from him and focusing on where she wanted to go.

* * *

Zuko definitely hadn't meant for questions and conversations to get so deep this quickly. He wasn't one to open up easily, and it had already been the easiest with Katara than it had been with anyone else. Though she had hated him for a while, the way she was holding his hand and looking relatively peaceful - despite being on a mission to get somewhere - told him that she had resolved most of her conflicts about him within her thoughts. There was no more blame in her eyes when he looked at her, and he was happy about that.

"So I guess you're taking charge of the date, huh?" he joked, lifting an eyebrow at her. He knew that Katara was more familiar with the Northern Tribe compared to him, and since it was so much bigger compared to the Southern Tribe, it was easy for him to get lost in the maze of all the buildings. Luckily, he hadn't fallen in any water yet.

Katara laughed softly at his comment, looking up at him.

"Don't worry, you've been here before," she said calmly, which made him feel a little bit better.

A thought dawned on him - the only places he had been in the Northern Tribe were the Spirit Oasis and a clifftop beyond the Oasis. Was she really bringing him back to the place where he captured the Avatar, one of many failed times?

"Wait," he said, tugging on her arm to keep her from walking. "The Spirit Oasis?"

"Yeah," she answered, her eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Why? Is that okay? We can find somewhere else if you feel that it's inappropriate or something."

"No, it's fine with me," Zuko amended. "I just don't know if the Chief would be happy about it, really, with me having essentially breaking in there last year."

Katara softened visibly towards him, giving him a small smile and placing a hand on his arm. In the short time that they both knew how they felt about one another, Zuko couldn't help but notice that she had gotten increasingly affectionate, and he had to admit that he was fond of how she was getting with him. He couldn't help but think about Mai in that moment. He knew that she tried her best, but Katara was a completely different person, especially with how in-tune with her emotions she seemed to be. Though Zuko still had some turmoil from his childhood, he felt that he could eventually talk about it with Katara and he felt exponentially more at ease with her.

"I'm sure it will be fine," she said calmly, giving him one last smile before tugging on his arm gently. "Now are we actually going to get there or are we going to keep stopping and second-guessing ourselves?" She gave him a bit of a look, to which he couldn't help but chuckle softly at, and he easily followed her again, entwining their fingers as they walked.

Before long, they reached the steps of the palace, and he marveled slightly at its architecture, lips parting slightly as he stared. It was beautiful - different, compared to the bold red and gold color scheme the Fire Nation had, but beautiful all the same. Differences seemed to be a strong point, and he could now actually appreciate the beauty of the different cultures and nations that surrounded him. A small giggle came from his side, and he turned to raise an eyebrow at Katara.

"Like what you see, Firelord?" she asked, a small smirk on her face.

Gently, he bumped her side with his elbow and lifted a corner of his mouth in a half-smile, letting her giggle a little bit more before letting go of her hand. He hoped that she understood why he let go, and he didn't know if anyone already saw, but he wanted to limit the chances.

"Katara," said a warm voice, and Chief Arnook walked out onto the steps, his smile faltering slightly when he saw the Firelord standing there. "Ah, I see you've brought a…"

"A friend," she finished for him, not wasting any time before asking the question she wanted to ask. "He wanted to visit the Spirit Oasis, pay his respects, even though he trespassed last year. I didn't think it was a problem, and I trust him to be respectful while we're there."

Zuko couldn't help but admire how much growth Katara displayed. From the first time he laid eyes on her, when she was a lone waterbender in the South, faltering and incredibly inexperienced, she had grown up and become more confident in who she was. The way she stood there proudly and with poise, while still maintaining a calm aura, was incredibly admirable to Zuko. He almost couldn't tear his eyes away, but did when the Chief cleared his throat. Zuko looked from Katara to Chief Arnook and then immediately bowed, his hands in his customary flame symbol that meant respect and friendship in the Fire Nation. He had no idea how it would be handled here, but he was certain that it was only fair.

"I never thought I'd see a Firelord who would want to respectfully visit the Spirit Oasis," confessed the Chief, a sad smile on his face. "Go on, your brother has already visited. Twice. You are always welcome, Katara."

Katara smiled at the Chief and nodded, waving for Zuko to follow her through the long hallway out into the open, a small patch of trees and grass ahead of them. When they reached the pool, Zuko noticed two lone fish, a wave of guilt washing over him. Apparently, it showed, because Katara came back over and placed a hand on his arm once again, a soft smile on her face.

"That is quickly becoming my tether back to the real world," he blurted, swallowing back his embarrassment. He never expected to say something like that on the first day. "It's a nice tether."

Katara laughed softly, looking down at the fish as well.

"You know what happened, right?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Admiral Zhao," Zuko said darkly, contempt in his voice when he said that name. "I wasn't surprised. He tried to kill me once, but my uncle helped me escape and survive. I knew if anyone was so blatantly evil, just like my father, that it would be him."

His expression saddened as he remembered going to the Boiling Rock prison of the Fire Nation with Sokka, who said his girlfriend turned into the moon. It would make sense that it would happen here, but he didn't know. It wouldn't hurt to ask.

"Was this where Sokka's girlfriend turned into the moon? Because it would make sense…" he said, trailing off and looking at Katara.

"Yeah, actually," Katara confirmed, looking sad. "Princess Yue was born very sick and the Moon Spirit had given her life. She decided to give it back, and personally, it feels like the moon gives me more strength to waterbend because of it. I can't explain why, but… It does."

"No, I get it," Zuko said, nodding. He may not understand the aspect of feeling the strength of waterbending, but he definitely felt stronger after learning the true meaning and reason for firebending from the firebending masters with Aang. He had a feeling it was similar to that, that there was just a different connection with waterbending when Yue became the Moon Spirit.

"Okay," Katara said, with what seemed to be a relieved smile.

"So," he ventured, biting his lip. "What should I do?"

He gestured around them, wanting to pay respects but he didn't know where to start. There were customs for paying respect in the Fire Nation, but he didn't know if there were any in the Water Tribes or not. In the scheme of things, spirituality had always been his weakest link, not necessarily seeing it as a strength until he met Aang and his friends. He figured Katara would be a good person to teach him, especially after spending more time with Aang than he had. Now that he was here, he realized how unprepared he was, something he was not anticipating, but he had to push past it at some point. He wanted to pay his respects while he was there, not knowing when he would be able to come back to the North.

"I think we just need to sit and meditate - that's what Aang did when he was here," she replied.

Again, Zuko was brought back to the moment he had kidnapped Aang those months ago. His shift from capturing to helping the Avatar had been drastic and sudden, during the solar eclipse. It was his first time redirecting lightning, and he hadn't the heart to actually strike his father. He was just relieved that his father was not dead, but also not a threat to the world any longer.

"Okay," Zuko said, lifting his Firelord robes and letting them cascade around him as he sat in a standard meditation position. He crossed his legs, putting his fists together at the knuckles, closing his eyes and focusing on the circling fish in front of him, knowing he would have gotten there one way or another, with or without Katara's help.

* * *

Katara sat down with him, letting her own clothes float down with her. While he closed his eyes, she kept her eyes on him, her eyes studying his features. There were still a few cuts on his face that were mending themselves, and she couldn't help but want to heal them. She left him be for the moment, though, turning her face to the fish in the pond.

 _Yue,_ she thought, taking a deep breath and assuming the same position that her companion had taken, crossing her legs and bringing her fists together, placing them just in front of her navel. _What do you think? Part of me cannot believe that Prince- I mean, Firelord Zuko is sitting here next to me, paying his respects to you._

Before Tonna, Yue had been the first friend Katara had made that she seemed to truly connect with. Though Toph was a good friend, they had butted heads far too much for Katara's liking, and she hated to say that she was relieved her friend was not there at the moment. She loved Toph, but Toph was more like a little sister and behind in maturity than a friend that Katara could spill her insecurities to.

 _I always thought I'd end up with someone else, but here he is,_ she continued, imagining a conversation with Yue in her head. _It feels strangely_ right. _I can't explain what it is, but something draws me to him._

With that, she opened her eyes again, studying Zuko's face again, smiling at how calm he seemed. Everything about his face was beautiful to her, causing knots to form and butterflies to take flight in her stomach. His scar was just a part of him now and she could only hope that it was a marker of how far he had come now rather than a bad memory of his past. She would do everything it took, for him to feel proud of his appearance. All that mattered now was that it was no longer a face that drew out terror and rage from her; it was now a face of possibility, of something more forming.

Because of her focus on his face so closely, she didn't notice that she was now on her knees, almost touching his cheek, that she drew back when she noticed what she was doing. She sat back on her feet, shaking her head and breathing heavily, tucking her hair behind her ears and actually going more to a meditation position so she could pay her respects to the spirits around her and in the Spirit World.

All she could do was hope that Zuko didn't notice, but as she closed her eyes, she couldn't see Zuko's eyes settle on her, a small smile settling on his face.


	14. Chapter 13 - Intoxicating

**A/N:** Guess who's back, back again? Goodness, over these past few (a lot of) months, I kept trying to write the next chapter and no divine inspiration struck. Now there's a new element to the story that hit me today, and I am really excited to see what it could become and morph into, for both Zuko and Katara's relationship and the overall dynamic of the story. Anyways, another chapter will definitely come at some point in the future, and I'm sorry I'm being so sporadic, but life is crazy. I've applied for the Disney College Program and I am going to schedule an interview for tutoring for within the next two weeks so I might have a part-time job here soon. All that being said, I still love this story and I want to finish it, but who knows when that is going to be? Either way, thank you for sticking with me, and I hope this chapter is enough to hold you over! They won't be dumb idiots in love forever, I promise ;)

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Future Looks Good by OneRepublic

* * *

After talking with Yue - if that's even what it actually was - Katara felt both at ease and disappointed. She had a feeling that Yue heard her somehow, but not being able to hear her or give her words of wisdom was difficult for Katara. She made a note to herself to make sure to talk to Tonna when she could, hoping that her friend would be a good person to talk to about her feelings. She knew that she had feelings for Zuko and that they were pretty strong, but thoughts and imaginings were getting mixed up in her head. If talking to Tonna didn't help like she hoped it would, she would have to think of someone else to talk to. She just didn't think there was anyone - Sokka would not be extremely happy about it, Aang was like a little brother to her and had had feelings for her in the past, and her father would probably only give advice she wasn't wanting to hear. Tonna, at this point, was her only option.

Sighing, Katara finished her meditation and laid back in the grass, looking up at the clear blue sky and waiting for Zuko to be done himself. There wasn't one cloud in the sky that day for whatever reason, and though the sun was still out, nearly setting, she could see the moon overhead. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes, feeling the power that the moon brought out. That also signalled that it was probably relatively close to dinner time, which made her wonder how long she and Zuko had been out there. It had to have been a while. The fact that she hadn't noticed until now gave her a bit of a clue about how deeply entrenched and focused she had been on meditating, talking to Yue, being with Zuko…

She sat up quickly, realizing how late it truly was and caused a stir, which made Zuko open his eyes and look at her. She looked at him as well, biting her bottom lip as she thought about the fact that she interrupted his meditating. She was about to say something when he smiled, lifting an eyebrow.

"Didn't notice the time, huh?" he asked, grinning slightly before standing himself, giving the pool a bow before looking down to a stunned Katara. He held a hand out for her, but she stood up on her own, taking a deep breath.

"If you noticed before I did, you could have said something," she said, lifting an eyebrow, crossing her arms and then walking away. She heard a groan behind her an smirked to herself, then footsteps in the grass to proceed behind her.

"I didn't know if you were done meditating or not," he said softly, clearing his throat. "I will let you know next time, even if you're… you know. Still meditating."

She looked at him with her smirk, narrowing her eyes a little bit.

"You sounded a bit like Aang right there," she said, looping her own arm through his.

"I did not sound like a 12 year old kid!" he exclaimed somewhat loudly, and Katara quickly put a finger to her lips, shushing him.

"Do you want the entire palace to hear you?" she whispered, grinning. "Besides, Aang is 13 now, you know."

He scoffed a little bit, causing her to knit her eyebrows a little bit, tilting her head. She didn't question him, though - maybe something came up in his meditation that he would talk to her about later. For now, all she would do is change the subject.

"I wonder what the cooks have made for dinner tonight," she said. "I know it's not going to be as fancy as when we first all got here, but I am hoping for more seaweed noodles and…"

* * *

" _How dare he come to the palace, and how dare that girl bring him!" whispered one of the guards to his colleague. "He is probably just doing this all for show and getting ready to seize the Tribe once and for all!"_

 _His colleague was quiet, nodding once to show that he heard what his friend was saying, allowing him to keep rambling. Their attention was pulled elsewhere, and they watched as the Firelord and a Southern Water Tribe girl walked out of the Spirit Oasis. His eyes gleamed with a quiet anger that wasn't stoked until he saw how happy they were to be walking out. He had heard both of them had been spending a lot of time together…_

" _Look! I doubt they actually meditated - who looks that happy and is that giggly after_ meditation _?" his friend inquired._

" _I do," said the guard, but he carefully watched them until they turned a corner, moving towards the Great Hall, where dinner would be served again, but more for close and honored guests, not the entire tribe._

" _Well, I know that," his friend amended, slapping his friend on the shoulder in a gesture of brotherhood. "But why would a Firelord be so happy to have gone in there to meditate?"_

 _The guard didn't exactly know, but he could not have pure ideals and motives for trying to become allies with the Water Tribes. It was virtually impossible, not after what his sister and father did to the rest of the world less than a year ago. How could this girl not see through that? She seemed to trust him enough, but she had to be delusional. He still carried Firelord Sozin's blood, which was destructive, burning everything in its path._

" _I believe we're needed at the Great Hall now to guard the entrance," the guard said, looking at his friend. He still wasn't happy to be in this position - having to guard a Firelord - but he didn't doubt that more of his fellow guardsmen felt the exact same way._

* * *

As Zuko approached the Great Hall with Katara, he warmed himself up as much as he could in the icy landscape of the North. A shiver went through him and he tried to brush it off, but Katara noticed too quickly.

"Do you need a coat or something? My father might have some clothing you can borrow," she offered, lifting her eyebrows and looking at him expectantly.

He was about to deny the offer, say that he was fine, but would it not help him fit in here if he was wearing some Water Tribe clothing? He did want to learn more about the tribes, but he also knew that quite a few of the tribe's men and women would not take it kindly that he was wearing Water Tribe clothing.

"No," he said. "At least, not right now. I am sure it will be warmer in the building."

But he was terribly wrong.

While he ate warm soup and hot noodles, he was still letting a shiver run down his perfectly-postured spine. It was obvious enough for Katara to look at him, concerned, but she didn't dare mention anything until the dinner was over.

"I'd like a coat now, please," he said. "These robes are just not cutting it anymore, I'm afraid." He didn't know exactly what happened, but his Firelord robes certainly were not making the trip to the Northern Tribe much easier.

Katara laughed softly, nodding quickly and standing up to go ask her father. While they spoke, she and her father looked back over to Zuko and he gave the two of them a formal nod, a soft smile on his face. Before long, Katara came back, leaning over to tell him to follow her, not bothering to sit down.

"Thank you again for the delicious meal," he said before leaving with Katara, finding it difficult not to hold her hand in public but knowing that it would be safer.

Once they reached a quieter street, Zuko held his hands out and blew a puff of warm air from his hands, sighing in relief as his hands got just a little bit warmer. It would help until he got some mittens or something to cover his hands, but not for long.

As they walked to Katara's abode, they both spotted Aang and Tonna sitting on one of the edges of the bridges. Katara smiled and put a hand to her mouth, shaking her head.

"No wonder I haven't been able to find her," she said, her lips still pressed together. "I've been meaning to talk to her about…"

She trailed off then, causing Zuko to lift his eyebrows and tilt his head.

"About what?" he questioned, eyes narrowing in mock suspicion.

A slight blush spread across her cheeks then and she crossed her arms, nose going up in the air in defiance.

"I don't have to tell you."

Zuko lifted one eyebrow and sighed, nodding once.

"I suppose that's fair," he murmured, his hands ducking into his sleeves. He thought they were past keeping something from one another, but he supposed that it was confusion about him. He could only hope that was what it was. She was lucky that she had someone to talk to about that, where he really did not have anyone. There was possibly Ty Lee, but she was too close to Mai for that to really, truly be a good idea. Sokka was Katara's older brother and probably too busy with Suki, doing who-knows-what now that the war was over and they could really spend some _alone_ time together. That left Aang, and he wasn't exactly sure if Aang was completely tuned into the topic of love and romance and relationships. Though, seeing him with Tonna briefly, he could be very wrong.

"Really, it's just girl talk," Katara continued. "Talking about boys and all that."

Zuko smirked to himself, giving her a half-shrug.

"Do what you wish."

Before long, they got to their destination and Katara told Zuko to wait outside.

"Why?" he asked, gesturing into the house. "It's probably warmer in there and I'm already freezing-"

"Just for a moment, Zuko. My father did not want you to come into my house with no one else here."

He both understood that sentiment and didn't understand, because they had been virtually alone for months on the road together. But he graciously waited anyways, happy when Katara came back out with a warm-looking coat that was slightly big, but he would take it for that night. Katara let out a giggle and he glanced at her, giving her a look.

"What?" he said.

"You just look...fluffy. Like Appa."

Zuko groaned.

"Maybe one of Sokka's clothing items would be more suitable," he suggested, hoping he could take this bulky thing off and wear something a bit slimmer.

"Well, we got my dad's permission, not Sokka's."

"That's true," he said, feeling a bit defeated.

"It doesn't look that bad."

"You just said I looked like Appa!"

"And Appa is adorable!"

He paused, lifting an eyebrow.

"You only think I'm adorable?" he said in a slightly lower tone.

"N-no," Katara stammered, trying to amend her phrasing. "I just meant-"

"It's okay. I know you think I'm more than adorable."

It was relatively unspoken between them, but he still felt like he needed to say the words, to make it clear that he knew what she meant.

"Okay," she said softly, giving him a smile.

He sighed, feeling warmer already.

"Since I'm already at my place, I might as well just stay here."

Zuko looked up at Katara at those words, nodding slowly.

"I suppose so," he said, pursing his lips for a moment.

"Goodnight, Firelord," she said, leaning up to kiss his cheek quickly.

She didn't get very far away before he lifted a hand, keeping her closer than she was before and looking down at her for a moment or two before slowly leaning down and brushing his lips against hers. The kiss wasn't much - it was barely there - but it was enough to send his head into a tailspin unlike anything he had experienced in the past. He pulled away after a few moments, looking down at Katara and realizing that they might be going too quick.

"Oh, uh," he said, smiling awkwardly and itching the back of his neck. "Goodnight."

"Zuko-"

"Goodnight, Katara."

He started to turn away before he realized he was walking nowhere, being pulled back to where Katara stood.

"No, we need to talk about that," she said firmly, looking up at him. "I don't mind that you did it. I really don't."

"Are you sure? We could be going too-" he said, suddenly cut off by a much fiercer kiss as Katara pulled him down towards her and kissed him once more. He kissed her back, arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her close, even though there was thick fabric between them.

Moments later, they pulled back to catch a breath, smiling a little. Zuko let go of her, hands trailing down to her hands and grasping them softly before he took a step back.

"Goodnight, for real now," he said, a smile on his face still.

"Goodnight, for real."

Little did they know that they had eyes on them, from the guards walking the streets to the neighbors in their homes. Where it seemed like they had been alone, they did not realize they weren't. But Zuko walked back to his place either way, thinking over exactly what just happened, in his own little world, unaware of his surroundings.


	15. Chapter 14 - Farewell

**A/N:** Wow, it's been a hot minute. I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I haven't updated this story since March 2018 and I honestly can't believe it? But I needed a break (which you probably think I take too many breaks, which is true) and I had a pretty busy and rough semester. Good news is that I finally declared my major (stage management) and have a plan of attack, so I'm hoping to update this story more and more often, even if it's just once a month. As usual, this chapter is not edited. I hope we'll be seeing more of each other now! Happy 2019 y'all!

 **Song Muse for this chapter:** Butterflies by Myon and Jenn Blosil

* * *

Zuko's dreams were filled with her later that night, with the water tribe girl who had managed to capture his attention from the very moment he had laid eyes on her those many, many months ago. While it was initially in disgust, in contempt, in fury that she was harboring and helping the Avatar, it slowly morphed into something else, especially after that time he encountered on the river bank.

His dreams morphed slowly into something darker, Katara's hair spread around her head like a halo as she drowns, her eyes dark and dim as she fights for her life. He doesn't realize that he's moaning and crying out in his sleep until someone comes and wakes him. He jerks awake, blinking away whatever he was feeling in his sleep, taking a deep breath and laying there for a moment.

"Are you alright?" asked Soran, leaning over him.

Zuko nodded before taking a few more deep breaths, not realizing how quickly his feelings for Katara would multiply, to the point that he was already having nightmares about losing her. Like many other people in his life, he was now afraid of losing the girl he cared so much about. He had to remind himself that the war was over, that it was safe again.

"Yes, I'm alright, Soran," he confirmed, nodding again before sitting up. "Sunrise already?" He squinted at a narrow sliver of light coming through the thick curtains, designed to - like Katara said - keep the heat in and the cold out.

Everything reminded him of her now and he knew he was smitten. Upon thinking of Katara, he thought of that kiss they shared the night before and he was smiling like a dopey child once more. Soran took notice of it and narrowed his eyes at the Firelord, shaking his head.

"You need to stop talking and looking like a lovestruck teenager," his servant said.

"Well, that won't be easy, since I am a bit lovestruck and a teenager at the moment," Zuko replied, laughing. He was becoming less and less moody, something that seemed to make Soran uneasy.

"I guess I have to accept that, then," Soran commented, nodding once. "Breakfast is ready, but we will need to leave by summer's start."

"Wait, why?" he asked, his eyebrows folding together in confusion. He knew there were Solstice celebrations in the Fire Nation, but nobody knew how that was going to happen after the war had stopped. While they had only celebrated the conquering of many towns, cities, and lands of other kingdoms or nations, they hadn't really, truly celebrated fire being life-bringing. They had not celebrated the origins of fire on the longest summer day of the year. "Nevermind, I know why. The Solstice celebration and preparation."

"Yes," Soran said, nodding in confirmation.

Zuko couldn't believe that he almost forgot about the Solstice celebration, but he hadn't liked it much while he was growing up after his mom went missing. After that, it never felt _right_ again. He was hoping that the change would happen with this Solstice celebration, but he needed to be back in the Fire Nation in order for it all to go smoothly.

"Thank you for reminding me," Zuko acknowledged, placing a hand on Soran's shoulder before putting on the Northern Water Tribe frock that he had borrowed from Katara's father the day before.

"Not wearing your Firelord robes today, sir?" Soran questioned, to which Zuko shook his head.

"I'll still wear the emblem though," he said. "These are just far warmer and the cold is starting to get to me."

He put his shoulder-length hair up into a bun, wrapping the ribbon around the fine hair and tying it taught. With that, he put in the Firelord emblem and looked at himself in the small mirror. He looked like a Water Tribe citizen, save for the metal flames sticking out of his hair. He minded it more than he realized he would, wearing that blue and silver instead of the red and gold he usually wore, but it would do until he could request the warmest clothes back in the Fire Nation.

"Alright, let's go," he said informally, walking out of his hut and still feeling the shock of the cold air biting at his face. It was a relief to walk into the dining hall, warmth being insulated inside, until he saw the looks of everyone around him.

* * *

 _The guards watched as the Firelord walked into the dining hall with Water Tribe clothing on, standing stiffly until he fully entered the building and then shared a look. As soon as everyone was inside, the older one walked over to the younger and started talking in a heated whisper._

" _How dare he wear our clothing!" the younger one said, balling up his fist in fury. "If he thinks he can just waltz in here and try stealing our ways-"_

" _Hush," the older guard said, taking a deep breath. "I have no doubt that it is that girl. One of the guards downtown caught them kissing last night."_

 _Shock crossed the young guard's face, quickly replaced by anger once again. For how cold it was outside, the young guard's face got red hot._

" _How dare she betray us," he said in a low voice. "What should we do about this?"_

" _Nothing," the elder said. "The moon and ocean spirit will tell us when it is time for us to take back our village. This chief is naive, but we - the people - will not allow this. Alright? Now, do your job and forget about this for now. We must not be found out."_

* * *

Katara was in a dreamlike state all morning, so much so that she didn't remember getting to the dining hall beside her father and Sokka.

"Katara?" Sokka said, waving a hand in front of her face. "It's like you're in love with something. You've never been this...unaware."

Katara gave him a look and then scoffed.

"Please," she said. "You're lucky that I'm unaware right now. Otherwise I might've thrown a snowball at you this morning for the _sounds_ I heard from your hut last night-"

"Hey, hey, not in front of dad," he whispered, panic sounding in his voice. Katara looked up at him innocently and then turned to walk away, searching for a place to sit.

Before she could, though, she looked around for a red and gold frock, instead being met with only blue and silver. She sighed, spinning around and nearly bumping into someone.

"Excuse me," she said, being stopped again, forcing her to look up and see Zuko standing there, a smirk on his face.

"Are you seriously that unaware? Just from a kiss?" he asked, leaning close to her ear so no one else could hear him while the murmur in the hall was loud.

She rolled her eyes and sat down, a small smile on her face. She never thought that she would feel like this again - this blind - after Jet blinded her with his fervor. Though she was more mature now, she still ended up becoming partially blind in the sense that she couldn't focus until he was next to her. She absolutely hated it, so she resolved herself - or tried to, anyway - to not think about him unless he was sitting right next to her like he was now. She took a deep breath and looked to the right of her as he sat next to her, crossing his legs and allowing one of his feet to touch her knee, a soft smirk settling on her face.

Before long, breakfast was over and negotiations started once more. They remained next to one another throughout the day, and Katara couldn't help but feel like he was sticking near her for a reason. He seemed to be calmer around her, which she couldn't exactly feel entirely terrible about. She just did not want to get to a place where they couldn't be separated for long periods of time. No matter what happened - whether she became the Firelady or not - she was a Water Tribe diplomat first and foremost. It was obvious that they had a lot of talking and clarifying to do, but she didn't know how to approach it.

It seemed as though she may not need to at the current moment, though. As soon as the meeting was through for the day, they had about an hour to kill before dinner was served. She shook hands with people she barely knew and said goodbye to her father and brother, waving at them as she walked to the front and walked off, down the road a bit to find Zuko waiting for her there already.

"Are you waiting for me, now?" she teased, looking up at him and just then realizing that he had grown a little bit. Being 17, she was probably close to done growing. He was probably done too, she supposed, with him being an adult. She focused more on his face staring at her before shaking her head and walking away, taking his hand at the last second.

They weaved between alleyways and canals, bridges and buildings until she was sure they were tucked away enough. Turning back towards him, she took both of his hands and looked up at him with a smile until she saw the look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked, stepping closer.

He looked down at her, sighing and playing a bit with her long braid, laying it gently on her left shoulder.

"I have to go to the Fire Nation in a week," he said. "Just temporarily, but it is the Solstice celebration and obviously, it's going to change now that I'm in charge instead of my father. I have to ensure that it goes smoothly and that we celebrate the life that fire brings, not the power and destruction."

Katara looked up at him, confused.

"Did you think that would make me angry?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows. She knew it was coming soon, but time moved fast in the frozen climate. She hadn't been paying attention to the movement of the sun and moon to realize that Spring was nearly over.

"Well, no," he said, letting go of one of her hands to itch the back of his neck. "Just disappointed, really."

She looked up at him, placing her free hand on his chest and shook her head, looking up at him incredulously.

"No," she said. "Well, I am a little bit, but you have your duties and I have mine."

Looking up at him, she felt a wave of something like offense wash through her.

"Did you expect me to want to be around you every single day? Well, I might want that but we both have our responsibilities. We need to be able to be away from each other-"

"No, Katara, I know that," Zuko interrupted. "I know that we need to be apart from each other sometimes. But I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

"I didn't know you could be so… cheesy and such boyfriend material."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Katara."

"Well, cheesy was not something I expected. Moody, maybe, but not cheesy."

"I can be plenty cheesy!"

"And defiant. You're really good at that."

"Oh, shut it!"

Katara was grinning up at him, happy to see that some of the old Zuko appear, even for a fleeting moment. She didn't give him much time before she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him quickly.

"Now you know what you're getting into, Hotpants," she said in a low voice, not wanting to risk being overheard.

"Hotpants just took on a whole new meaning since yesterday," he said, kissing her one more time and wrapping his arms around her waist.

It felt natural, standing there with him in such close proximity. Well, at least as close as their clothing allowed. She could stand there for hours, letting herself get a little lost in the warmth and the fur clothing that they had between them. She rested her forehead against his and smiled, taking a deep breath before pulling away.

"We should probably find our way back," she said, laughing a little bit, as much as she wanted to stay right there.

"You're probably right," Zuko agreed. "I don't want to though."

"Wouldn't it be nice just to be kids infatuated with each other for an afternoon?" she mused, smiling up at him.

"Let's take five more minutes," he said, leaning down and kissing her softly, keeping it sweet so it would leave Katara wanting more but not too much more, where she could still pull away if she wished.

After a few minutes, she pulled away, pursing her lips and smiling up at him.

"Now we go," she said, taking his hand and walking back the way they came.

* * *

The week went by quickly and before Zuko knew it, he was packing his things onto the Fire Nation Airship, wearing his brilliant robes once again. The time he had spent in the Northern Water Tribe was mainly spent with Katara or with diplomats. More dates had happened: flowing down one of the many canals that threaded through the Water Tribe with the woman he was falling for more and more every day; going and getting seaweed noodles with one another on one of the couple days off they'd had; and spending more time exploring the North. He hadn't had such a thorough tour of the Northern Tribe and he was happy that he had gotten it.

He watched as he and his men's belongings were loaded onto the ship, helping when he could but then stepping aside when his servants told him that they got it, their voices shaky. Did they fear him, too? Didn't they know that he was nothing like his father? The rifts between the royalty and his people were certainly not mended yet, but he did not think that only six months would've mended it, either way, especially not with him gone for a good month now. He just hoped that his advisors had kept the peace like he wanted.

Arms suddenly wrapped around his waist, snapping him out of his self-doubt. He smiled as he turned around and sighed, seeing Katara standing there, returning the hug that she gave him. Aang, Sokka, Suki, and Tonna were standing behind him, all smiling.

"Uh, I'm only going to be gone for two weeks, guys," he said, a smile on his face.

"We know, but we still wanted to say goodbye," Aang said. "That's what you do with friends."

He swallowed nervously, pressing his lips together, figuring that none of them knew about him and Katara, as they had been careful to keep their dating stealth and inconspicuous. As Aang hugged him quickly, he looked at Katara and she shook her head, signalling that she hadn't told them. That gave him some relief, but he'd have to say goodbye to her last.

"Bye, bud," Sokka said, clapping him on the shoulder before Suki gave him a quick hug, the pair of them walking off with Aang and Tonna. All he got from Tonna was a wave. He couldn't help but notice that Katara and Tonna exchanged a look.

"Alright," he said, turning to his servants. "Prepare for takeoff, I'll be on in a moment."

With that, he turned back to Katara, lifting an eyebrow.

"So no one knows anything?"

"No… Except for Tonna," she admitted sheepishly.

Zuko groaned and rubbed his forehead, but she grabbed his forearm and shook her head.

"We needed to talk about this stuff. She and Aang have something going on and I just… I seriously needed to talk to a girl and Tonna is the only person I really trust. I would've talked to Suki, but she's so glued to Sokka's side I couldn't get a moment alone with her. Or maybe Sokka's glued to her side…"

She trailed off then, looking up and seeing Zuko's smirk. He liked seeing her nervous like this, biting her lip.

"I don't forgive you," he said, shaking his head before hugging her and then kissing her quickly. "I'll be back soon."

With her nodding, he pulled back and boarded the ship, not expecting it to be that hard to let go of her, even though it was very temporary.


End file.
